A Surviving Mau
by Usagi-Hasano
Summary: During Galaxia's reign of destruction, a mortally wounded Sailor Mau had managed to escape the now dead planet Mau. Finding herself on Earth, she meets a young sixyearold boy with a slight aversion to cats. Life fading, she decides to rely on him.
1. Chapter 1

A Surviving Mau

Ranma ½ and Sailor Moon are owned by their respectful owners. I do not own anything about them at all.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

/cat talk/

Chapter 1

She could hardly feel the very legs that were supporting her weight as she made her way to safety. She hated to do it, but she needed to escape this place that she had been protecting for so long. Escape to heal, gain a little breathing room, and find anybody who could help before coming back and going back onto the attack. Complete destruction seemed to reign everywhere she looked as she moved on. It was almost like the whole world was on the verge of ending. She never believed that it could have had ever come to this.

"Going somewhere, Sailor Mau?" A voice from behind asked in an almost purr. Turning slowly, the now named Sailor of Mau glanced fearfully in the direction of one of the people who had been the cause of all this. The woman was casually sitting on top of a wall, and there was an amused smirk on her face and golden eyes. It was as if she was a cat who had cornered a very delicious canary. Her outfit consisted of a black leather fuku with a line of golden bells starting from the top at the collar, and ending at the bottom of the skirt. A long black tail was swishing behind her.

A wince appeared on the injured Senshi as she had tried to back up. "Nyanko, why did you do all--"

What she was about to say had been cut short by the face of her opponent stopping just a few inches from hers. "It's a simple answer, Mau." The woman with golden eyes stated. "I was promised power, and the chance to become a true Sailor Senshi. It's just a simple matter of killing you and stealing your starseed." Grabbing the wrist of the injured woman, Nyanko was about to make her move when Mau -- in a hint of desperation -- lunged forward and bit the cheek of the villain.

Howling in pain, the wannabe Sailor Senshi let go of the Senshi of Mau and put a hand to the injury. Her golden eyes narrowed when she caught sight of the blood that had started coming out. "You stupid bitch." She stated as she took off after the injured and weakened guardian of the planet they were on. Frustration played across her when she found out that she had lost sight of her prey.

'I have no hope against her in this state. I'm not even sure I stand a chance against the other people in her group. I need to escape for now and come up with a plan!' Mau thought as she attempted to sneak around in the darkness using her cat form. Her destination was the small room on the planet that held a few teleportation crystals. She hoped that the attack hadn't destroyed all the crystals.

Prowling through the ruins and destruction of the once beautiful planet, Mau kept her senses open for any sound of danger that could pop up. After several moments that seemed like a complete eternity, the cat-themed Senshi found herself at the room she had been hoping to get to. Her eyes looked on in fear and despair at the destruction of the room. Holes were in the walls, the ceiling collapsed, a few bodies littered the ground, and it seemed as if all the crystals were shattered.

'Damn it to hell. Why is this happening?' Moving farther into the room, she found that her luck had come back to her. Near the corner, there was still a blue crystal that had been completely in tact. Smiling in glee, Mau transformed back into her humanoid form and raced up to the object. Her smile turned to an expression of pain when a small beam of energy shot through her left leg.

"Ah, ah, ah, Mau" the voice of Nyanko purred from near the entrance. "Can't have you doing anything rash now, can we? It's too bad that I missed one of the crystals, but I guess it worked out perfectly." The villain finished with a slight giggle. Her look then became one of seriousness. "I think for the bite you gave me, I'm going to enjoy killing you ever so slo-- OW!" She shouted as a large piece of rubble smacked her upside the head.

"Shut up and go to hell!" The weakened Senshi shouted as she jumped for the crystal object in the corner of the room. Holding the azure rock close to her, she started to whisper under her breath. "I don't care where it is, but please teleport me to a place where I can find the help that I need." The request was completely vague, but a soft glow had begun to shine from the small rock. It started out as a faint glimmer, but then it began to get brighter and brighter.

Nyanko's eyes widened at the fact that she was about to fail in her task, and the price of failure was not something that she wanted to pay. Aiming her bracelet towards the slowly vanishing Mau, the follower of Galaxia attempted to destroy the crystal before the teleportation was complete. The departing Senshi saw the beam heading her way and moved the teleportation crystal away from the line of fire, and ended up receiving the blast through her chest.

As Mau fell forward, her body completely vanished from view. The azure crystal that had been in her hand fell to the floor and shattered. "DAMN IT!" The golden-eyed former resident of the planet of Mau shouted with all her might as she pounded the floor. "I was too damn careless and played around too much!"

"You were indeed, Sailor Tin Nyanko." A voice observed from behind the hysterical girl. Stiffening, the aforementioned girl turned around to see a woman dressed in gold with crimson eyes. "I'm slightly disappointed in you as well. Knowing if Sailor Mau is dead would be difficult right now. She suffered countless mortal wounds and should be dead by all accounts. We don't know, however, where she was teleported to. It could be possible she was sent to a place where she could get medical attention."

Nyanko faced the woman in gold and kneeled down low. "I am sorry for my foolishness, Sailor Galaxia. Please allow me to make up for this blunder. I don't know how, but I wish I could." Her eyes looked up when the fingers of the one controlling her pressed against her chin.

"You may rise, Sailor Tin Nyanko." The voice was cold and commanding. "This is a great setback for you, but you did lay waste to this planet, and Sailor Mau is still out there somewhere. I don't think wounds like that would be enough to destroy her. We will find her someday, and then you could finish what you started."

Golden eyes shined brightly at what Galaxia said. "Thank you oh so much, Sailor Galaxia. Next time her and I meet, I will finish it." Maybe even torture the girl for a little while before killing. She still hadn't felt like she had done enough to equal the bite on her cheek. 'Just you wait Sailor Mau. We will meet again, and I _**WILL**_ finish you off.' The follower of Galaxia had begun to laugh in a slightly hysterical way. That laugh had been cut short, however, when a piece of ceiling fell down and knocked her unconscious.

"Well that's a bit inconvenient." The crimson-eyed woman commented as she scratched the back of her head. Giving a small sigh, she dug her follower out of the rubble and began dragging her by the tail. She didn't really care that the girl bumped into small rocks and other debris on the way. "Maybe I should have just killed this girl." The idea was tempting, but then she'd have to look for another follower to replace her.

"I'll have some milk in my tea, mommy…" Nyanko let out under her breath as she was dragged over debris.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A sigh escaped a six-year-old Ranma as he looked up at the full moon hovering in the clear sky. The serenity of it all was marred by the sound of his drunken father snoring loudly several feet away. Listening to the overweight man snore was like listening to a lawnmower going at full power, and it made it hard to fall into a peaceful sleep.

Well, that had been only one of the reasons that kept the raven-haired little boy from his much desired sleep. The other reason for his inability to lull off to the land of slumber had to be the nightmares. They were terrible nightmares about the very evil creatures that the man who had called himself the boy's father had thrown the boy to. Sometimes the beasts in the dream world were over 12 feet tall with razor sharp claws and foot long teeth dripping in blood.

His body ran through a complete shiver at the thought of those dreams. His eyes also traveled over towards the pit being used for the training exercise. The blue-eyed boy's father had stated many times that even though the pain and experience was a thing of torture, the man knew Ranma could pull it off. The young Saotome could also have sworn that throughout doing it, Genma had seemed reluctant several times. The man had squashed that reluctance every time and replaced it with one of sheer determination to get his son to learn the skill though.

As much as the six-year-old boy hated to admit it, he was beginning to think that his father could be a complete moron at times. There were times when the man could be a kind and caring father, but then there were other times when he could be positively relentless in training to the point that one could think he was crazy. The older Saotome also had some crazy fixation with him being taught what was 'manly' and 'unmanly'.

Ranma couldn't see why emotions such as tears and all were unmanly. He had seen plenty of men cry before. The pony-tailed boy decided to just chalk it up to things that he would never figure out and go along with the flow. It seemed there was always something that nobody would tell him, such as why he had to go away from his mom. He really missed her, and he missed her great cooking.

'Dang it, now I'm hungry.' He thought to himself as he got off the small rock he had been sitting on and moved over towards the traveling packs. Poking his head into one of the packs, he began to root around for something to snack on. The blue-eyed boy finally found something and pulled it out of where it was stored. When he caught sight of what he had, his face paled a bit. In his hand was a rope of fish sausage, and that had been one of the things used in this stupid Neko-ken training.

'Screw it,' he thought, 'I'm hungry, an' I don't care what it is.' Sitting back down on the rock, he began to eat the food. 'It would probably be better if I could make a fire or somethin'.' The boy thought again while scrunching up his nose. The only problem was, he didn't really know how to properly make a fire at the moment.

Out of the corner of his azure eyes, Ranma could have sworn he saw something glittering in the air. Turning his head, he noticed whatever it was had begun to increase in intensity. The young boy had to blink when a figure -- it looked like a woman from this distance and amount of light -- faded into view and fell towards the ground. Curiosity getting the better of the young Saotome, he hopped off his rock and slowly made his way up to the downed woman.

"Um -- lady, are you ok?" Getting closer to the stranger, the pony-tailed boy nearly let out a scream as he backed up. The woman seemed to actually have cat ears and a tail. 'Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap' had been Ranma's internal mantra at the thought of an honest to goodness cat demon coming for him. The raven-haired Saotome had actually found his legs too numb to move as he looked upon the downed figure of evil. 'Sheisgoingtokillmesheisgoingtokillme!!' He thought quickly in his mind.

It was at that moment in which his eyes caught something else laying in the grass around the demon woman. It was obviously red and liquid-like, and the boy knew exactly what it was. 'I -- its blood,' he thought with eyes wide as saucers. 'I've n -- never seen that much before. Th -- that means she's badly hurt.' His mind was in complete turmoil. He had heard his dad say many times that one of the duties of a martial artist was to help people, and so this was a time where he should put it to use.

The big problem with it all was that the injured person appeared to have a connection to cats or something, and cats were an evil creature. All the creatures wanted to do were to rip through him to get at whatever food they could get. Those sharp claws, glowing eyes, long fangs…

Shaking his head to clear out the images, Ranma looked back down at the woman surrounded by blood. "Hey," he whispered as he began to poke the girl. "You aren't a monster, are you?" The raven-haired boy continued to try and poke the girl awake. It was then that a few pieces of the fish sausage fell onto the cat woman's face. The slight twitching of the facial features caused the boy to hop back.

"Who…?" Sailor Mau asked weakly as she looked ahead of her. Standing in the grass just a few feet in front of her was a small boy of around six-years-old. "Where… am I? What… planet is this?" Her body had to be a complete wreck, and it was getting slightly harder to see. The magic of being a Senshi may be able to help heal large wounds, but without medical attention, she would be done for.

"Planet?" The pony-tailed boy asked in confusion. What was the name of the place they lived on again? Oh, that's right. "I think this is Earth." The woman didn't look well at all, and he felt worried about it.

'So far away from Mau.' The cat-woman thought to herself. 'I refuse to let the power of Mau die out and give satisfaction to that Nyanko bitch.' Her weary eyes looked back towards the small boy. 'The power of Mau might not be as strong in the boy as it would if he were a girl, but he would still control it and be known as Sailor Mau.' Raising a gloved hand, the woman from far away weakly motioned for Ranma to come to her. "Don't… be afraid. I won't… hurt you. I need your help."

His better judgment was telling him it would be a good idea to flee and hide under his covers for the rest of the night, but he also wanted to help this strange woman in a time of need. His mind made up, the younger Saotome made his way slowly towards the downed woman and stopped right in front of her. "Wh -- what do ya want me ta do, lady?"

Sailor Mau gave a small cough as a small blue and gold ring appeared on her finger. Pulling the ring off, she handed it to the young boy. Accepting it in his hand, Ranma examined it to see that the top was domed shaped, and the front of the ring actually seemed to have small cat ear protrusions. In the center of the gem, there was a gold symbol that looked like a waving cat tail within a circle. The raven-haired boy didn't really care for jewelry, but it actually looked kind of cool.

Slipping it on his right hand, he was about to comment on something when the center of the tiara on the downed woman's forehead flared brightly before sending a small white beam that connected to Ranma's forehead. His azure eyes glazed over, and if he were able to see his forehead, he would have seen the same symbol that was on the ring on his hand. The young Saotome didn't have a clue to what was going on. All he knew was that his body felt like it was slightly on fire. It didn't feel too painful, but it did feel hot. His mind also felt like it was exploding with an ocean of images that he had never even seen before.

When it had all finished, the young Saotome's head had become slightly disoriented. He didn't know what all those images were, and it seemed as if they had all receded to somewhere. "Wha-- what was that?" The boy asked as he attempted to shake his head. Looking around, he couldn't find the woman who had just been there a few minutes ago. The only clue of her being there was the puddle of dried blood and small bits of fading light.

"_Please,"_ a voice from around the field echoed. _"I could tell that you are a person who would try and help people. Please, use the powers and abilities I have given you to protect the innocent from evil. I died fighting against villains who destroyed my planet and people. It may be a big burden on your little shoulders, but it would be nice if what I had done didn't go down in vain."_ With that, the small whisper of an echo vanished and was replaced by the sound of a gentle night breeze.

Ranma waited for a little longer to see if the voice would return, but not even a peep returned. 'Her whole world was destroyed by bad people?' His azure eyes looked to the stained grass. 'I wish the cat-lady didn't have to die and vanish.' He thought with sadness in his voice. The idea of the woman being a little catty freaked him out, but she seemed like such a nice woman. It was such a shame to die like that.

Closing his eyes for a second, the young Saotome looked skyward to the full and bright moon. He didn't know much about people dying, but his mom once said that good people who die get sent to heaven, and heaven is somewhere in the sky. Staring at the round moon, he brought his hand up to his forehead and did a salute that he saw once in a movie. "I will try ta not let ya down, cat-lady." For some reason, as he stared intently at the moon, a single tear flowed down his cheek for the sake of the woman who had been so badly injured.

After several minutes of silence, he tore his eyes away from the satellite that orbited around earth and looked towards the ring on the back of the finger on his right hand. 'Just what do I do with this thing?' The raven-haired boy thought as he brought a finger up and pressed against it. No sooner had he touched the ring had a small glow started to shine softly around it. It was then that some kind of phrase found its way out of his mouth. "Mau Planet Power, Henshin!"

In an instant, tendrils of light had begun to snake out of the ring and wrap around the six-year-old boy. Lifting about a foot off the ground, his dirty white gi had instantly been replaced by a full body black outfit. A small silver circlet with a golden sunburst in the center popped into view on his forehead. His arms were instantly spread a part as a golden vest formed on his torso, and a belt of the same color wrapped around his waist.

The light had gradually spread to his hands and feet. The former gained a pair of black cat gloves with small claws that could pop in and out. The latter had also gained a pair of boots shaped like cat feet with claws equally as sharp as the gloves. Around his neck, a small silver collar with a golden bell popped into existence. Slowing to a stop, the six-year-old had then been lowered to the ground onto his feet.

That hadn't been the end of the transformation, however. As soon as his feet touched the grassy ground, a long black tail managed to pop out and swish around wildly. Upon his skull, a pair of black cat ears had also managed to force their way out into the world. The finishing touch happened when a small earring with a golden bell snapped around his left ear.

Coming to a complete stop, the now transformed martial artist blinked to bring the feeling of his balance back to normal. Instinctively, his hand went to his head to steady it, and that's when he felt something that shouldn't have been there. 'Wha-- what?' He thought to himself as he reached up to the top of his head with both hands and grabbed a pair of furry protrusions. His mind would have stopped at that moment if it hadn't been for the feeling of something moving behind him. Reaching back, he found himself now the owner of a long and furry tail.

Ranma's reaction to this was the same as any normal person who suddenly discovered they now had some cat appendages. Although unlike most people, his reaction had also been coupled by the slight fear that he had accumulated due to the training of the Neko-ken. "GAAAAHHHH!!! GET 'EM OFF OF ME!!!" The raven-haired youth shouted as he ran around the field like a chicken with its head cut off.

Due to the commotion the young six-year-old was causing, Genma gave a grumble in his sleep and woke up. Still in a slight drunken stupor, the bespectacled martial artist yelled over to his son. "Boy, shut up and go to sleep before I knock you to sleep."

That instantly shut the young boy up. "Yes papa." He stated softly as he watched the overweight man turn over and go back to snoring. As soon as he was sure he was in the clear, the transformed boy went back to what he had been doing a few moments ago. 'Why do I have cat ears an' a tail? These gloves and boots also look like a cat! I'm not turnin' inta a cat, am I?!' He gave a vigorous shake to his head, which also caused the small bell earring to jingle. 'Don't think about somethin' like that, Ranma. Jus' concentrate on what ya know.' That right there was a start, right?

His inner musings had actually brought him close to the closed off pit that his father had been using to teach him the evil Neko-ken. A shiver escaped him as he began to turn around to walk off. /Someone please let us out./ A voice whined out in despair.

"Wha-- what?" Ranma asked as he looked around for the voice that just spoke out. "Who just said that?" The newly christened Sailor Mau was slightly nervous at the sudden sound of voices asking to be 'let out'.

/Please help us. It's dark in here, and we are hungry and thirsty./ This time it was a different voice that whined out. The raven-haired boy was able to pinpoint the voices and found that they were coming from the inside of the pit. His face completely paled at the idea of going back in there, but found a bit of inner courage at the thought of whatever it was that cried out for help.

Kneeling by the large wooden plank that blocked the pit, the six-year-old became surprised at the little boost of strength he seemed to have gotten from somewhere. Deciding to file the thought away for later, the boy proceeded to move the plank away from the pit. Now that the hole had become uncovered, Ranma crept up slowly towards it and nervously looked down. The inside of the pit had been illuminated from the light of the large and bright moon, and what the boy saw caused a slight feeling of sadness to well up within him.

Down in the pit, the small felines that had been used for the vile Neko-ken looked tired, scared, starving, hurt, scratched, and various number of things that made the young Saotome ill. Closing his eyes, the six-year-old attempted to find more courage inside of him that he would need to face the beasts that had bit, clawed, and hissed at him for the past two days. It took several moments to do, but he finally managed to look down and see not ferocious beasts, but innocent and hurt creatures in need of help.

Wishing that he was in bed instead of doing this, he took a deep breath and leapt into the darkness and landed on the ground. A gulp escaped him as he looked around and watched as the cats started to gather around him. One very skinny and sickly looking cat came the closest and began to sniff at him. /You are-- the human child from before, but your scent has changed a little. You now have the smell of a feline on you./ Curiosity played against the features of the felines. /Why are you down here anyway?/

"I-- I'm here ta re-- rescue all of ya from this p-- pit." At this proclamation, all of the cats in the pit looked on with eyes widened in disbelief. This child-- no, messiah of cat kind, had come to free them from the pure hell they had experienced. "I'll c-- carry you all out a f-- few at a time." The young Saotome stated as he bent down to pick up a couple of the more skinny kittens. As soon as his hands touched their fur, he winced severely. He had to take another deep breath before he could pick them up and leap out of the hole.

It had taken several moments before all of the cats had been freed from their confine for the past couple or so days. Looking upon their starved and skinny bodies, a frown came to Ranma's face. It then broke into a smile as he turned around and made it to the traveling packs. Rooting around for a few minutes, he found what he was looking for. Walking back over to the group of cats, he sat down and placed what he had in front of him. The items he had were: 11 cans of tuna, 9 ropes of fish sausage, 5 cans of dried and salted sardines, and a package of chocolate chip cookies that his mom had given him right as he started his trip. 'Huh, I wondered how they disappeared from my pack. Damn it papa.'

Bringing out the can opener he also picked out of the bag, he began to open the cans of tuna. Next came the ripping apart of the fish sausage, and then opening the cans of sardines. Once finished, he managed to spread out the food for the cats to feast on. As he ate his own cookies, he couldn't help but watch as the hungry cats ate as if there were no more food. 'I don't think I could ever imagine bein' starved ta near death.' The boy thought to himself as he finished his cookies.

His body suddenly stiffened when several small and furry creatures gathered around his sitting form. /Thank you so much for your gracious gifts of food. We are sorry for mauling you all those times you were sent into the pit, but we were so starving and couldn't think of anything else to do./

/We shall spread the word across the world!/ A small kitten shouted excitedly. /A savior and protector of cat-kind has arisen! Originally human, he has been given the gift of the cat./ The small kitten's eyes had begun to sparkle uncontrollably at the thought, and all the other cats looked on with a small sweat-drop. The little creature then proceeded to jump into Ranma's arms. The only problem with that action was that the six-year-old still had a slight aversion to cats. When the small kitten jumped up into him, the raven-haired boy gave a startled yelp, fell backwards, and bumped his head against a rock. After the slight bump on the head, the young boy drifted off into unconsciousness, and his form had shifted back to civilian form.

/Oh, good one Miki./ An older cat stated sarcastically. /Nothing like scaring the poor boy who had only recently had us clawing and biting at his body for food./

The kitten known as Miki gave a small blush. /I didn't mean anything by it, Kenta./ The whole idea sounded completely weird though. This boy had a slight fear of cats, but at the same time was part cat himself. /Oh, you think he's now one of those weird aliens who are both cat and human?!/

Several felines shared a look before rolling their eyes. /Oh come on Miki,/ one of them began/those aliens are just a story passed down by cat-kind./ Really now, alien people who could transform between human and cat.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was early the next morning when Genma had awoken from his passed out state. The only problem with waking up though had to be the incredible hang-over. The over-weight martial artist had actually wondered many times if it was a sign that kept trying to tell him to stop drinking. 'Feh, I just need to build up a better immunity or something.' He thought to himself as he got to his feet. 'A little sparring with the boy will be just what I need.' Clearing the sleep out of his eyes, the older Saotome looked around the clearing to see where his wayward son had gotten to.

What the bespectacled man saw had caused his jaw to almost drop to the ground. Lying just a little ways away in the grass, his son was sleeping with a bunch of cats curled around him. That in itself should have been impossible due to the fear the boy had begun to show during the Neko-ken training. The only likely conclusion the older man could think of was that the boy didn't know the cats were around him.

As he moved closer, he found that the previous idea had been shot to hell by the sight of opened cans of tuna and sardines. Genma wasn't stupid; he knew that cats couldn't open up things like that on their own. That only left the boy to be the one who did that. He also recognized the food and cats as the things that were currently in use for the Neko-ken. That could only mean one thing. 'Ranma is outright ruining the training we worked so hard at!'

"RANMA!" He shouted at the top of his lungs in a gruff voice. The shout managed to wake up all the sleeping cats that had been curled up around the boy. The felines all took one look at the large man and started running away in random directions. If Genma had been able to understand the language of the feline, he would have heard them call him the 'fat demon from hell'.

Sadly, all the overweight martial artist heard had been a bunch of meows and yowls as he watched his son slowly sit up and wipe the sleep out of his right eye. "I was havin' some weird little dream about an alien cat-lady…" He stated sleepily as he slowly got to his feet. Turning his eyes towards his father, he began to blink at the odd look upon the man's face. "Um… papa?"

The older Saotome shakily pointed a finger towards his son. "B-- boy, what is that thing behind you?" He stuttered out with wide eyes.

"What's what?" The six-year-old asked as he turned around several times before catching sight of what had shocked his father. Swishing back and forth was a long black and furry tail. Catching sight of the furry appendage, he stiffened and fell to his knees. Grabbing a hold of it, he pulled it in front of him and examined the obviously feline tail. 'I-- it wasn't a dream. It really happened.' Looking up towards the bespectacled man, the young boy tried to find his voice. How the hell would he be able to explain this?

His answer came when Genma raised his fists in front of him and let tears stream down his face. "My boy, you finally mastered the Neko-ken! I knew you would have been able to do it. You are a Saotome after-all."

'Riiiight, let's go with that.' Ranma thought to himself with a sweat-drop. 'Papa would probably think I was crazy if I mentioned an alien cat-lady who gave me her powers.' He looked down to his finger to see that the symbol that had been on the odd ring was now on his finger in place of the ring. 'At leas' he won't comment on jewelry bein' un-manly or something.'

"Ok boy," Genma started as he pulled his son up. "It's time we test out your mastery of the Neko-ken." The overweight martial artist walked a little ways away from the raven-haired boy and got into a ready stance. "Learning the technique should have had given you the spirit of a formidable cat!" Without warning, the balding Saotome rushed towards the boy.

'I'm goin' ta be in big trouble if it didn't.' Ranma thought as he watched his father come at him. Moving out of the way of the large foot that was aimed for his head, he found that he felt slightly lighter than before. It was almost like it felt natural. His next move had been to leap over his father when the man sent a punch that would have also connected to his head.

Landing behind the large man, the six-year-old boy's ears were able to hear the subtle movements in the grass behind him as his father turned. It had actually shocked him to find how much his hearing had improved, and he was able to dodge a leg sweep that attempted to knock him to the ground. "Your reflexes do seem to have improved, boy." Genma stated with a proud smile. "I wonder what else you have picked up though!" A quick kick from the older Saotome to the younger's chest sent the boy flying towards a tree.

The pony-tailed boy managed to give out a yelp before he ended up turning around and hitting the trunk of the tree with the bottom of his feet. He had also been slightly surprised to find that his fingers had somehow managed to become embedded into the bark. Curiously, he pulled out one of his hands and gave a small examination. From the looks of things, his fingernails had become sharper than they used to be. Tilting his head a bit, he decided to test out a small idea. Pulling back his arm, he made a swipe at the bark of the tree. To his surprise, some of the wood had been scraped off.

"WOW!" Ranma shouted with wide eyes. He tested it out again with another swipe and found the same thing had happened. Eyes still wide in glee, he began to scratch the tree with both hands as fast as he could. It wasn't long until the boy with a cat-tail had hollowed out the small area of the tree. "This is so cool!!"

A sweat-drop formed on Genma's head as he walked up to his child. "Um, boy?" The overweight martial artist gave a yelp as he jumped back and found that his gi was now sporting four long tears on it. Looking up, his face took on an interesting shade of alabaster when he caught sight of the large toothy smile and twinkling eyes of his son. "Now wait just one minute Ranma." He stated nervously as he started to back up. "Th-- there's no reason for you to te-- test your abilities any mo-- no -- stop! GAAHHH!!!" Turning around, the balding man had begun to run away from a child who was having too much fun with his claws.

"Oh come on papa, it would be good for ya to know how it felt for me!!" Ranma yelled with a feral grin plastered on his face as he initiated a fun little game of 'cat and mouse'. Cats still un-nerved him a bit, but this was just too damn enjoyable to be able to get back at his father. There was no telling how long it would take for the man to start fighting back, so it was probably better to have his fun while it lasted.

He had also decided to keep that little super hero thingie to himself for the moment. If what he saw from super heroes in fiction was any indication, then keeping it secret would be a good thing. 'When he goes ta sleep tonight, I'll try an see if I can figure out anythin' else about these powers.' The six-year-old thought to himself. 'This is goin' ta be so cool!'

xxA.Nxx

Chapter one of my newest fanfic is finished. Yes, I know, another fanfic when I have several others already. Inspiration and imagination can't be killed though, and to have it fester in my head would be liable to kill my brain.

I'm also thinking of possibly including a couple more other series into the mix at another time. A possibility could be a little bit of Tokyo Mew Mew later on.


	2. Okonomiyaki Means Friendship

A Surviving Mau

Ranma ½ and Sailor Moon are owned by their respectful owners. I do not own anything about them at all.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

/cat talk/

Chapter 2

In a misty and spacious area located within the space of the fourth dimension, the Guardian of Time was currently doing something that nobody who had ever -- or would ever -- met her would dream that she would do. Sailor Pluto was actually sleeping while standing up with her Time Staff being used to keep her from falling. If anybody had been around her, they would see that the woman was actually snoring with a small snot bubble coming out of her nose. Of course, if Pluto knew anybody had seen her like that, she would have Dead Screamed their ass until they swore to forget it.

"Beware evil eggplant monsters," she began with a snore, "the guardian of the underworld shall destroy you. You shall never plague me with your gross appearance again." It was a few moments later in which a satisfied smirk appeared on her features. "The world is now safe."

It was at that moment in which a slight change in the temporal stream knocked her out of sleep and onto her butt and gave her a slight headache. Something like that always occurred when something big happened when whatever it was went against how the stream of time originally planned it to go. "With as long as I've been stationed here, you'd think I would have gotten used to small occurrences like this!" She announced to herself in slight annoyance as she stood back up and sighed. "Great, now I'm starting to talk to myself. Good one Pluto."

Nobody except for the green-haired Senshi understood the branching off in the time streams. She had to go through it many times, but the feeling was getting better. She no longer always suffered from a headache for hours at a time now. The last time something like that had happened was when that guy -- Vlad III Dracula if she remembered correctly -- was supposed to have died by the hands of his enemies. It didn't happen as it was originally supposed to, and the guy had become a vampire. Now he was residing somewhere in England and working for some organization dedicated to killing monsters that needlessly threatened human lives.

More often than not, small occurrences like the event that had just occurred were mostly harmless, although they could end up growing out of hand. Since she was only a guardian of the Time Gates and couldn't leave her post, she could only observe things that went on and would only intervene if whatever it was happened to be a direct threat to time and the Gates. Sometimes she really hated this job.

A small noise from a little ways away from her had distracted her thoughts. Turning her head towards the location, she watched a door suddenly appear and begin to open. Casting her senses, she had been able to tell by the time signature that it was from the 30th century. Who she saw walking through the door caused her to kneel. "I am pleased to meet you, Small Lady."

The girl who entered appeared to physically be around seven or eight years old, and her pink hair was done up in a twin odango style with ponytails. Her crimson eyes blinked on in confusion as she held a small toy in her arms that looked like a kitten head. "You know who I am?"

Sailor Pluto gave a small smile and extended a hand towards the young and nervous girl. It wasn't that often when she got visitors. "I am Sailor Pluto, Small Lady."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Boy, what's with that small kitten in your arms?" Genma asked gruffly as he looked towards his son. In the young Saotome's slightly trembling arms was a little feline. Its fur had a very pale pinkish tint to it, and its paws and the tip of its ears were black. Its large and shiny lamp-like eyes were a deep azure as it looked towards the large man with a slight fearful look. He had noticed the kitten following them a couple hours earlier, and dismissed it from his mind. It had been a moment ago when he noticed the kitten again.

"Her name's Miki, papa." Ranma stated as he held the tiny kitten close. He was still shaky when it came to being near felines, but he felt a little attached to the little thing. "She won't leave me alone, and she thinks of me as her savior. She's one of the cats that you starved and kept trapped in that pit." He finished with an intense glare towards the large man.

"Well leave it behind." The bespectacled man ordered with a slight glare. "We have no need for some useless little pet to slow us down." Reaching forward, the older Saotome attempted to grab the small creature out of his son's arms. He suddenly pulled his hand back when his son began to actually hiss at him. It had been an even greater shock when a pair of black cat ears popped out of his head. Said ears flattened on the top of his head, and the fur on his tail seemed to have started to stand on end.

"Don't you dare touch Miki, papa. She's a friend, and not a useless pet. She can't remember where her home was because of you stealing her away, and she kept asking to come along with me." The pinkish kitten gave a small little 'mew' and a nod. "I promised that I'd protect her, and I won't let you do any bad things to her." To emphasis this, the raven-haired boy flexed his hands like they were claws.

A small gulp escaped from Genma when he noticed how serious his son was about it. "Fine, she can stay. However, if your martial arts training starts to slack, she will be out of here." The balding man stated the last part with a growl of authority. He didn't like the decision one bit. That cat would probably end up making his son weak, but he would have to wait and see.

The man then became slightly confused when the six-year-old started chatting away with the feline in a series of meows. He wondered what they were talking about, but decided that it wasn't important. What _**WAS**_ important was to slightly tweak their training regiment. Since the boy had mastered the Neko-ken, he felt there were other places they should start heading to that would better suit the boy. He just had to figure out what places first.

It was at that moment when the overweight man's nose caught a whiff of something delicious. 'What's that smell?' He asked to himself as he kept sniffing. 'It smells almost like okonomiyaki.' Looking around the area, Genma noticed that they were actually on the outskirts of a large city. Pulling out a small map he kept in his traveling pack, he began to study it for a few moments. 'It looks like we're in Osaka.' His mind then traveled back to the okonomiyaki he had smelled. "Hey boy, how about some okono--" He didn't get to finish what he had about to say due to his son not being there. 'Where the hell did he get to?'

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

/What's that smell, Ranma?/ Miki asked curiously as she and raven-haired boy poked their heads out of the bushes. What they saw in front of them was a large park with people enjoying the day. /It smells so good./

/I think it's okonomiyaki./ Her companion finished back. It was something that he hadn't had in a long while, but he recognized the smell from anywhere. The fact that his sense of smell had become a little more sensitive made it even more mouth watering. Looking around the area for a few moments, his eyes finally spotted a yattai with steam coming from it. Behind the cart was a large man who appeared to be flipping the food for waiting customers. Next to the man was a young child who Ranma guessed was his child.

The delicious smell getting the better of Miki and him, the six-year-old had begun to silently creep up to the cart to get a better smell. Maybe the guy would even be nice enough to give them a little okonomiyaki. Both of their stomachs felt hungry, and it would be great if they could have something.

As he crept closer and closer to the smell, he hid his ears and tucked his tail around his waste so he didn't stand out too much. The pony-tailed boy and companion were almost at their destination when a small spatula careened towards him and imbedded itself into the ground. This action surprised him enough to lose control of his ears and cause them to pop out. "Just who are ya, and why are ya sneaking around here?" The voice -- there was a slight hint of Kansai dialect behind it -- demanded.

Looking up, Ranma saw the brown-haired child from a few moments ago looking at him with wide eyes. The child -- Ranma was unsure if said child was a girl or boy right now -- walked up slowly in his direction until he/she was just a few inches away. Miki gave a small sniff in the child's direction and looked towards her companion. /Smells like a human girl./ The pinkish cat simply said.

The newly revealed girl had long dark brown hair in a long loose pony-tail, and in her hands were a few miniature spatulas. Her dark eyes looked towards the younger Saotome's direction in shock for several moments. She then made her move by pulling on the boy's furry ears. "Well I'll be, they're as real as an okonomiyaki." The girl broke out into a giggle when the cat-boy gave a small pout at her pulling his ears. "Hey, do ya have a tail as well?" Moving quickly, the brown-haired girl ran behind him and spotted the long and furry black tail as it moved around slowly.

A small shiver traveled up the blue-eyed boy's spine when the strange girl grabbed hold of the tail. "Hey, quit it. My tail and ears are sensitive!" He shouted with a small glare. This caused the girl to step back and wave her hands.

"Sorry about that. I was just a little bit curious." She then held out her right hand. "You know what? I like you. My name is Ukyo Kuonji, and I'm heir to the Kuonji School of Okonomiyaki Martial Arts and soon to be the best okonomiyaki cook ever."

Ranma gave a smile as he accepted the hand. "I'm Ranma Saotome. Heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts." Hey, maybe this meant he had made his first _**HUMAN**_ friend. "And this," he started as he showed off the small creature in his arm. "This is Miki." As if on cue, the small kitten gave a mew. It was also at that moment in which the stomachs of the two feline companions started to grumble.

Ukyo stared at both for a moment before giggling. "Hey, maybe I can get you two an okonomiyaki from my father. He's given a few free ones out to some of my school friends before, and I bet he'll be happy to give you one." With a smile, she helped the raven-haired boy to his feet and led him and Miki over to the yattai.

Glancing towards his daughter, the big bearded okonomiyaki chef gave a small chuckle. "I suppose you would like me to give a little free food to this boy, Ukyo?" He actually had no problems with giving a free one to a friend of his daughter's every now and then. The man gave off a louder chuckle when he saw the slight trail of drool and watery eyes coming from the boy and his cat. What really caused him to look, though, were the cat-ears and tail the boy obviously had. As he handed a plate to the child and cat, he decided to ask the question. "So young man, where did you get those cat-ears and tail at?"

Ranma had rehearsed in his head on what to say to people if they should ask about it. "It's from a martial arts technique my papa trained me in this week. It's called the Neko-ken, and a trainee has ta be wrapped in smelly fish products and tossed into a dark pit of starving cats. It took a little while of being pushed into the pit to finally work." After finishing his explanation, he saw the looks on the faces of Ukyo, her father, and a few people who wanted to purchase okonomiyaki. Giving a small smile, the six-year-old held up Miki. "Miki was one of the cats my papa starved and stuck in the deep and dark pit. I was able to rescue them all last night, and Miki hasn't left my side since. She said she can't remember where she lived before papa took her away."

"Wait a second Ranma," Ukyo began with wide eyes, "what do you mean by 'Miki said'?" The little kitten wasn't able to talk, was she?

"Oh, I can now talk with cats." Ranma announced with a bright smile. "It's so interesting to know about their likes and dislikes. I still need to get over the small fear I have of cats from being attacked by them during the training though." His azure eyes danced a little as he watched people react a little more to the whole Neko-ken thing. 'Papa's going to be in so much trouble.' The young Saotome thought a little deviously.

"There you are boy!" Genma shouted as he made his way out of the bushes. "I've been looking for you. Haven't I told you not to run off on your own, Ranma?" He asked gruffly. His eyes then noticed the looks that were being sent in his direction. "Err-- what's everyone staring at me for?"

His answer came from a young woman who seemed to be in her early 20's. "Your son here mentioned an interesting story about being tossed to into a pit of starving cats repeatedly, and how you had also starved that poor little kitten over there." The overweight martial artist gave a sweat-drop at the evil glares he was receiving.

Reaching into his gi, he pulled out a small manual and showed it to the assembled people. "Now see here," he began in a bit of annoyance, "the Neko-ken is a true training exercise that can be taught to a person." Ukyo's father took the pamphlet in his hands and began to read it. "You see, I did everything right. My son also has no ill side-effects from the trai--"

"This training has been banned due to causing the trainee severe psychological trauma." The okonomiyaki maker read aloud as he pulled apart two stuck pages. "It's a wee bit irresponsible on your part as a parent, even though you are training him martial arts."

Genma gave a nervous laugh as he scratched the back of his head. "Well it's too bad that I never read the page. It worked out wonders though." Nobody could deny that, could they?

Ranma had become slightly confused about something. "What does psychologi-- psycho-- that word mean?" It was a big word that he had never heard before. "Is it a kind of food that's tasty?" He finally asked with big eyes, ears twitching in confusion, and tail swishing behind him. It was at that moment in which he was grabbed in a hug by a group of young women.

"Oh, he's so adorable!" They shouted in unison. There was just something about a completely innocent six-year-old with cute little twitching cat features that just screamed out 'huggable'. "How could an evil and mean man like that be your father?" One of them asked. That question caused another sweat-drop to appear on the overweight Saotome's head.

"He's not that bad." Ranma answered, which caused Genma to give a smile. "He's lazy, greedy, a lot of other things," his father face-faulted against the ground. "But he's also a great martial artist and the only family I have right now." The raven-haired boy finished while twiddling his thumbs as his ears flattened a little on his head and his eyes gained a slightly sad look to them. He really did wonder where his mom was.

That very action caused even more people to gush over how adorable he was. Several even did the same thing with Miki as well. There were even a couple who actually decided to buy an okonomiyaki for the cute little boy and kitten. The scene had actually sent Genma's mind onto an idea he couple probably use later. If Ranma and Miki had that much effect on people, then there would probably be a way to milk it.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So you're on a long training journey with your father?" Ukyo asked curiously as Ranma and she sat near a fountain in the park. The young raven-haired boy was holding a sleeping Miki in his arms as he gave a nod to the question. "I don't think I could ever imagine living out in the wild." The girl finished with a small smirk.

Her companion gave a small shrug. "It's not that bad. It's kind of fun to lay awake at night and watch the stars. There's also being able to see many places as well." The pony-tailed boy scrunched up his face a bit. "We have stayed the night at a few temples before, but we had to leave for some reason. Papa would always grab me and run out with a few people yelling at him about things. I think they've called him a thief before."

The brown-haired girl next to him gave a small frown. "Well that's no good." She stated with arms crossed. "If your father's a thief and taking things that don't belong to him, then it means he's a bad man." She watched as her friend's eyes grew wide.

"Papa has always told me it was just a small game, and if you managed to get whatever it was, then it was yours." Had it really been a bad thing for them to take some of those things? That meant if he was going to be a hero, then he shouldn't do things like that. His azure eyes narrowed in determination. "Then it's my job to prevent papa from doing things like that again."

A smile came to his new friend's lips. "That's right, teach that jackass of a father how to do things right." Ukyo had then become contemplative. "Ranma, we're friends, right?" At the boy's nod, she smiled again. "Then how about I call ya Ranchan?"

"As long as I can call you Ucchan." Ranma answered back with a small smile. Maybe they could also spar sometime. She did say she was a martial artist, and he was interested in what this okonomiyaki martial arts was about. In his arms, Miki lifted her head and gave a few mews.

"What did she say?" The brown-haired girl asked curiously. It was so exciting how the boy could communicate with cats.

"She said that maybe you could call her Michan." The two friends shared a small laugh as their father's walked up towards them.

"Alright Ranma," Genma began with a point towards Ukyo's father. "He convinced me to have us stick around a little while longer since you two seem to be good friends." There was also the promise to give him some free okonomiyaki, and the guy also said that he wouldn't turn the overweight Saotome over to the police for what he did to Ranma if the boy could stay a little longer and play with Ukyo. Of course, he could always just leave, but the promise of food had been the big deciding factor.

The younger Kuonji gave a small squeal of joy before she latched on and hugged the raven-haired boy with almost enough force to cause him to turn blue. There was just something about him that she liked, and she figured it had to be the cat features and him being nice. "Hey Ranchan, how about we test my Okonomiyaki Martial Arts and your Anything Goes?" She actually just wanted to show off her skill to her new friend.

Ranma gave a nod. He wanted to see how good she was, and this could also be a little fun. Getting up from their seat at the fountain -- Miki decided to stay there -- the two walked towards a more spacious area of grass. Ukyo had asked her dad to bring a few of her mini spatulas and some other things. "I'm actually curious to see how well your training has prepared you, Ukyo." Her father stated before he started to walk to the sidelines.

Facing off against each other, the young okonomiyaki chef-in-training gave a bright smile. "Not gonna go easy on ya just because you're my friend, Ranchan." Around her was a small bandolier with a few items and mini spatulas. The girl had wished she was able to wield the large combat spatula, but it was too big for her to carry.

"And I won't go easy against you either, Ucchan." The pony-tailed boy stated with a smirk as he got into a ready stance. Both children stared at each other for a few moments before taking off in a run. With a swipe of her arm, Ukyo tossed one of the small spatulas with all her strength. The utensil flew straight ahead, but at a slight wobble. Ranma saw it coming and jumped over the spatula.

Continuing on, he made it to his friend and attempted to do a palm strike to her chest. The young Kuonji brought out another small spatula and used it to block the strike before it connected. The blue-eyed boy's next move had been to do a small leg sweep that knocked his opponent off her feet. The cat-boy blinked when his friend tossed something at him as she fell. The thing exploded in a small cloud of flour and caused him to cough a little as the smokescreen obscured his vision.

Ukyo gave a small smirk as she charged into the flour to give a smack to her friend with a mini spatula. She had become a little shocked when the boy managed to move out of the way, and she couldn't figure out how he knew where she was coming from. Her answer came when the smokescreen cleared to show Ranma with his cat ears poked out and twitching. "I guess it makes sense that your hearing would be great, Ranchan."

The six-year-old boy gave a nod. "Your smoke bomb was interesting as well, Ucchan." If he didn't have his enhanced hearing, he would have been a sitting duck. Ending the small chat, he ran up to the girl again and attempted another palm strike. His friend dodged and sent a strike of her own that the young Saotome managed to block with his own hand. He then proceeded to do another leg sweep, and ended it by pinning the girl to the ground. "Do you give up, Ucchan?"

The brown-haired girl was reluctant to admit defeat, but understood that there was nothing she could do. "Alright Ranchan, I give up." As the boy helped her up, she pointed a spatula towards him and smirked. "I'll beat ya next time though."

Ranma playfully stuck out his tongue. "You were right about being good Ucchan." He held out a hand to shake hers. He couldn't understand why his father had stated that girls were weaker and needed protecting. Ukyo seemed to be strong enough to handle herself.

"I think ya were holding back on me a little though." The young Kuonji stated with a slight frown before shaking her head. "It was fun like that though. I'll reach ya sometime, Ranchan." She figured if he didn't hold back, she would have been done in the first few seconds. If anything, she found a kind of rival in her friend. Maybe he was what she needed to grow better in her art.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma glanced around their camp site for any signs of movement. His father had decided on pitching up the site in a small grassy area that was very close to the park they were in earlier. Ukyo and her father had already gone to their home about three hours ago. The pony-tailed boy was ecstatic that his father had actually agreed to stay around the area for a few more days.

Looking down at Miki, the raven-haired boy gave a slight smile. His father was sound asleep and snoring up a storm again. This meant that it was the perfect opportunity to test out a little more to his powers. "I wonder what I should try and figure out first." He stated in curiosity.

/You said to me earlier this morning that this all came from an alien, right?/ At the young Saotome's nod, she continued. /There's a small legend thingie that us cats know. It's about a group of aliens who can transform between human and cat. Do you think you became one of them when you got your powers?/

That caused the boy to blink. "Me, turn into a cat? Would that even be true?" At his kitten-friend's shrug, he continued to think about it. "Well, I gain cat-ears and a tail, so why wouldn't that be possible?" Closing his eyes, Ranma began to try and concentrate on it. He didn't know what he was supposed to be looking for, but figured that he would find whatever it was. Maybe it actually had to do something with him _**THINKING**_ about being a cat.

'Turn into a cat, turn into a cat.' He kept thinking to himself. After a few seconds, he was about ready to give up when his body suddenly started to feel warm and tingle. The sensation felt really weird, and it was almost like his whole body had started to re-arrange itself. This went on for several moments before it had finally come to an abrupt stop. Opening his eyes, he noticed that he was now looking at everything from a whole different angle.

/Wow, that's so cool./ Miki announced with wide eyes as she looked upon her friend's new form. The boy had turned into a small kitten with raven-black fur, and on his forehead was a small golden symbol that looked like a curled cat tail in front of a small circular dot. /Funny little bald spot./ The pinkish kitten stated with a catty giggle.

"Wow, this is so weird." Ranma stated before his eyes went wide. "I can still talk like a human." Maybe it had something to do with the alien stuff or something. Giving a slight shrug to the idea, he began to move around. The only problem with that was that he fell on his face with one step. "I don't know how to walk yet in this form." The now kitten stated with a frown.

/Try to use your tail as a balance until you get used to it. Also, start out by putting one foot in front of the other slowly until you can figure it out./ Miki wanted to start laughing at the sight, but she didn't want to get her friend angry at her. She watched as the raven-furred kitten started out slow and wobbly, but managed to gain speed as he went. Before long, the boy turned kitten was running and jumping around on all fours.

"This is so cool." The young Saotome stated before something else came to mind. "I wonder…" He said as he pushed off his front paws and wobbled around on his back feet. His pinkish-furred friend watched in fascination as he began to gain his balance. The fascination turned to awe when Ranma attempted to actually do a kata in the form of a small kitten.

Anybody would have thought that it was a sight odder than anything else. Standing there in the grassy clearing was a small kitten with raven-black fur and attempting to do human martial arts. It was fully apparent that the aforementioned kitten was slightly clumsy and unbalanced, but the sight was amusing to behold. The long black tail was used to keep the clumsy balance as he went on.

After a little while of getting the hang of his new form, an idea came to the new kitten. "I know exactly how to train this new body." At Miki's questioning look, he smiled. "I think an adventure into the city would be fun. Jumping across rooftops, climbing poles, and a bunch of other things to test out. Want to join me, Miki?"

/I don't know, it could be a little danger--/ It was at that moment in which the sound of an owl filtered through the area. The pinkish kitten eeped in fight and jumped close to Ranma. /I don't want to stay here by myself!/ She shouted with a shiver. The little kitten had heard stories about owls eating small creatures. She knew that if it had to come down to it, her friend could probably slice one of those evil creatures in half.

The raven-furred kitten gave a tilt to his head. 'I wonder if she could learn martial arts.' It really would be something if cats could learn martial arts. Hey, maybe that was something he could file away for later use. "Well let's go then." The young Saotome stated with an excited smile. The two felines slowly made their way out of the camp site and into the vast park. Looking around for anything that could be hostile, they both gradually made their way through the park that had been illuminated by the moon and some park lamps.

"That's so cute!" A girl in her late teens said to a friend as the two felines walked past. She had short dark blue hair and brown eyes. "You think they're brother and sister or something?" She asked as she knelt down in front of them. "They both have vivid blue eyes and have black on them." Her friend gave a small shrug before pointing out something.

"The little black one has an odd bald spot on its forehead, Sakura." The friend -- who had long black hair and green eyes -- picked up Miki to pet while the other girl picked up Ranma.

"But that just makes the little guy so unique, Fujiko." She then proceeded to give the young Saotome turned kitten a small kiss on the nose. "You're just a little adorable thing, aren't you?"

"Do you really think we should be messing with these kittens? What if they need to go home or something?" Fujiko asked in a slightly bored tone. She liked the little kitten she was currently holding, but neither of the felines was theirs.

"But I want to hold him for a little longer." Sakura whined while implementing a puppy-dog pout. "We're both out for a walk, so why don't we just carry them around for a while and then return them here?" She actually wished she could keep the little kitten she was holding, but knew very well she wouldn't be able to. Her mom did have an allergy to cats after-all.

Fujiko gave an exasperated sigh as she finally agreed to take the kittens on the walk with them. Her friend could be such a baby sometimes. The blue eyes of the pinkish creature were a bit on the mesmerizing side though. "Damn you and your cute charm." The raven-haired girl grumbled out at Miki.

This wasn't what Ranma had in mind at all when he thought about exploring the little city, but it was fun none-the-less. It felt nice and comfy to actually be held by somebody while in this form, and he had also been able to test out his senses while in this form. The boy turned kitten could actually hear the beating heart of the girl who was holding him. It almost seemed as if he could also sense her pulse and emotions. The blue-haired girl also had an almost intoxicating smell of lilac about her, and it almost made him want to cuddle closer to her. There was also the fact that the girl was scratching him behind the ear, and it was apparently a spot that nearly caused him to lose all cognitive functions and purr loudly.

Everything had almost started to feel dream-like as he watched the sights go by while in the arms of the woman. He knew it would have to end soon, but he'd be damned if he didn't wish it could go on forever. It became even more enjoyable when the girl -- Sakura he thought her name was -- had actually bought a small bag of blueberries and fed him a few of them. They were so sweet and fresh to his taste buds that he found himself purring out some more. He had been so caught up in it all that he never noticed the girl buy a small golden-colored bow and tie it to his tail.

Ranma had just begun to drift off to sleep when he felt the woman carrying him come to a complete and sudden stop. Opening his azure eyes and looking around, the raven-furred kitten noticed that they were surrounded by a few mean looking gang members. They had apparently been lead to a vacant lot next to a building.

"Alright girlies, hand over all your valuables, and maybe we'll let you go." The other four guys gave a laugh at the last part. "And you know what? I have a couple dogs who might like to have a snack on kitten tonight." He gave an evil smirk towards the two kittens.

"Right boss." One of the thugs stated as he prepared to grab both Miki and the young Saotome. Giving a loud hiss, the boy turned kitten gave a swipe with his paw and left three deep gashes on the guy's face without even really touching him. "AAHH!! You damn cat." The guy, who was now bleeding, grabbed Ranma by the neck and tossed him. This caused Sakura to yell out in worry.

The raven-haired kitten landed on his feet and faced the group. Raising a paw, the blue transformation ring of Mau appeared. The assembled people were shocked to hear the small kitten actually shout out. "Mau Planet Power, Henshin!" They were all then slightly blinded by a flash of light that lasted for about a couple seconds. When it ended, they looked on with wide eyes at seeing a little cat-boy of about six-years-old in a cat-themed black outfit.

"Being a bunch of complete evil and mean jerks and harming a couple of nice ladies is something that I can not look away from. In the name of honor and justice," he made a small pose with his arms near his face and his cat-gloved hands bent forward like claws, "you shall be my scratching posts-nya!"

Ranma's appearance, pose, and speech caused everyone, except Miki, to stand there as stiff as statues with their jaws hanging open. All that once, everyone painfully said one thing very slowly. "So… adorable…" They all stood there for several moments in silence until the leader of the thugs shook his head and pointed towards the boy.

"Oh come on, you're just a little kid. A little kid who was just a small kitten a moment ago, but a little kid none-the-less. What can you hope to accomplish." Of course, if the guy would have paid more attention to anime, manga, TV, and other things, he would have at least had a small idea. Pulling out a small pocket knife, he gave a small smirk. "I'm not going to kill you, kid. I'm just going to show you why you shouldn't be playing with the big boys." After saying that, the thug rushed forward to scare the young wannabe hero.

The raven-haired boy leapt out of the way of the attempted slash and landed on the top of the brick fence. 'I know there's something I should be able to do, but what?' His mind went into overtime for a few moments before a name came to his mind. Holding out his hand, he began to chant. "Mau Yarn-Ball…" a sphere of yellow energy that contained a slight yarn-ball design to it appeared in his hand. Cocking his arm back, he let it fly. When it was almost upon his opponent, he added to the chant. "_**ENTANGLE**_!!"

The small yellow sphere seemed to shoot out strands of energy that started to wrap around the thug until he had become tangled from head to toe in yellow yarn. "BOSS!" The thugs yelled out in shock. They then watched as the strange cat-boy jumped off the wall and in front of the larger opponent. A feral smile played across the aforementioned boy's features.

"As I said, you'll be my scratching post-nya!" Raising his gloved hands to his head, Ranma started to chant the name of another attack. "Cat-Scratch…" the claws on the gloves seemed to almost glow blue. "_**FRENZY**_!!" The Senshi of Mau's hands seemed to almost blur as he jumped around the tangled up man. After several moments, the young Saotome stopped and jumped back in front of the guy. Bringing his hand up, he snapped his fingers. For a moment, it didn't seem like anything had happened.

The thug was about to gloat that the boy hadn't done anything, but then it happened. The yarn fell to the ground in shreds, then came the guy's clothing, and then finally the guy's hair fell off his head. The boss of the group found himself standing around in his underwear with not even a strand of hair left on his head. The sight had actually caused Ranma to sweat-drop. "I never would have thought someone like you would like pink underwear with unicorns on them-nya."

The thug's whole body took on an interesting shade of red as he gathered up his shredded clothing and ran out of the lot. His followers watched after him and then looked towards the cat-boy who had done that to the guy. They all became a little nervous when the boy gave a slight smile in their direction, and figuring that the smart thing to do would be to run away, they turned and high-tailed it. This left the two girls that Ranma saved to look at him with complete shock.

Miki took this opportunity to jump out of Fujiko's arms and run up to her friend. Giving a small leap, she landed in the raven-haired cat-boy's arms. The young Saotome gave a nod to his friend before looking back to the girls. Holding up a hand, he waved it to them. "Bye-nya!" With a small leap, he jumped onto the brick wall before giving another leap that took him to the top of the building.

Sakura was the first to recover from her shock. As she stood there, her lip began to quiver a small bit. This eventually led to her falling to her knees with her arms pulled in close. "He was so adorable!" She announced with tears streaming down her eyes. "And those little 'nya's' were just so cute as well."

"You realize that nobody is going to believe this, don't you?" Her raven-haired friend stated with a sad tone to her voice. It would have been interesting if they could report it to the newspapers or something. She wouldn't admit it to Sakura, but she had found the cat-boy to be completely adorable as well. 'I wish I was the one who held him.'

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I finally got to test my abilities-nya!" Ranma announced happily as he jumped from roof to roof. He didn't understand why he sometimes felt like saying 'nya' at the end of his sentences, but decided to ignore it. "That Cat-Scratch Frenzy was so fun, but that guy's underwear ruined the moment." The thought had actually sent a shiver down his spine.

/What I want to know,/ Miki began while in his arms/is what was with that slightly corny speech you said when you first transformed./ It had been weird, but it could have been worse. She didn't know how, but it could have.

"I don't know. It just came to me after I transformed." A small pout came to him after a second. "I was having so much fun being held by that lady-nya." It had been a bummer that those thugs had showed up. He wondered, however, what would have happened if he did go to sleep. Would the girl have tried to take him home and keep him as a pet? And what would his father have done?

/Ranma, did you know you have a golden bow on your tail? That lady actually got one and put it on your tail while you were kind of out of it./ The small cat gave a giggle when her friend blinked and looked around. /It does go well with your black and gold color scheme though./

A sweat-drop formed on the young Saotome's head. "I don't think I want people to think I'm even more adorable." He was about to reach over and take it off when his ears caught a loud noise. Looking around, he caught sight of a helicopter coming around the area and heading to what looked like the Shin-Osaka Bullet Train Railway station. Curious as to what was going on, the raven-haired boy made his way to the area and on a roof just across the street from the station. Looking down, he noticed several police cars and officers. There were also a couple helicopters hovering around the area.

His curiosity as to what was going on was answered when one of the officers shouted towards the building. A frown appeared on Ranma's face as he listened to the situation. Apparently some guy had gone postal and had a bomb strapped to him. It was also a greater danger due to the hostages in the place as well. Turning around, he set Miki down on a safe place. "Stay right here, Miki. I won't be long."

Turning back towards the problem at hand, his azure eyes looked for a good way to get over there. He smiled when he spotted a helicopter circling the area. When it got close enough, the Mau Senshi bent his knees and let loose with a jump that allowed him to catch the railing on the bottom. Holding on tight, he transformed into his kitten form so as not to be spotted as easily. As the flying machine hovered past the train station, the blue-eyed kitten let go and landed softly on the top of the building.

Moving quietly across the roof, he spotted a small window that was opened. Sneaking through the opening, he jumped down and around the beams and railings until he landed softly onto the floor. Looking around, his azure eyes spotted several people huddled together, and there were a few children who looked scared. Eyes narrowing, the young Saotome trotted over towards the oddly ragged guy who was standing with something wrapped around his body. In his hand was some kind of object with a button on it. Ranma didn't really know what it was, but figured it must be the bomb or something.

Standing right to the side of the man, he looked up and made his presence known. "Nya!" This caused the ragged man to look in his direction with slight confusion.

"How'd you get here, little guy?" He asked in a kind of soft tone, but the corners of his eye seemed to slightly twitch. Reaching down, the cause for the disruption around the area picked the boy turned kitten up and held him in his arm. "These people think I'm the villain, but I'm not. It's not my fault I messed up so much and got fired. It was the customers' fault for being rude to me so many times. It was the people in the other room next door to my apartment who kept me awake at night. I'm not the one in the wrong here." The guy gave off a nervous chuckle as he pet the raven-furred kitten. "I know you probably don't understand me, but it would be nice if you did."

'This guy seems a little crazy.' The six-year-old turned kitten thought to himself sadly. His senses could tell that the guy wasn't bad, but he was a little on the unhinged side. The kitten sat there for a few moments and tried to figure out what was the best thing he could do. After searching his mind for any solution, there was a small technique that came to him. 'Maybe that'll work.' Looking up towards the man, he gave another 'nya' to get his attention.

"What's the matt--" The guy's eyes suddenly glazed over when a small beam shot out of the symbol on Ranma's forehead. After a moment, the ragged man's eyes started to grow heavy. It wasn't long before they closed and he started to fall backwards. Acting quickly, the boy turned kitten jumped out of his arms, turned into his Senshi form, jumped behind the guy, and prevented him from hitting the ground. He had also caught the handheld object so it didn't hit the ground as well.

As soon as the motion had ended, there was a loud noise as several police began to storm the area and circle around the Mau and downed man. Smiling nervously towards the officers, the raven-haired Saotome handed the little device to one of them. "Please don't be too hard on the man. It seems he's been having a bad time and went a little crazy-nya." Setting his captive down softly, the cat-boy walked a little ways away before turning around and giving a wave. "Bye-nya!"

Before the assembled people could stop the boy, he ran out of the building, over a few cars, and up onto the roof of the building across the street. The cops could only stare for several moments until captain -- a large and muscular serious man -- snapped his fingers. "I want everybody to try and figure out who that little cat-boy is who just saved everyone here. Search the whole country if you have to."

"Err, why is that, sir?" One of the officers asked in confusion. If the boy was anything like the super heroes that usually popped up in places, then there was zero chance they would find him unless he wanted to be found.

"Because," the captain began, "he was adorable." That statement caused everyone who listened intently to face-fault… hard.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It didn't take long for Ranma and Miki to make it back the camp area. As soon as they entered the area, the raven-haired boy de-transformed and sat down. It had been a very exciting day, and he was fully ready to sleep. First thing he had to do though was to take the bow that was on his tail off. Turning around, his eyes blinked when he noticed that the bow had vanished somewhere. "Maybe I lost it somewhere back there." He said to himself with a shrug.

Miki gave a small giggle as she looked upon her friend. /You aren't just a savior to cat-kind, but a savior to human kind as well!/ It was so exciting to be a friend to an honest to goodness hero.

"I made a promise to carry out that cat-lady's last wish, and I'm going to make it true. It's also kind of fun to help people-nya." A sweat-drop escaped him after he said that. "I guess I'll sometimes be saying 'nya'." It's not like it really mattered though.

/Ranma, do you think you could teach me how to do that martial arts stuff? If you could do it in cat form, then I might be able to as well./ If she could learn, then she would be able to protect herself if her friend wasn't there with her at the moment. She actually didn't know if it was even possible, but there was no harm in trying.

"I might be able to do it." The young Saotome said as he grew deep in thought. He gave a small shake to his head for the moment. "How about we go to sleep for now-nya?" He was tired, and he wanted to get enough sleep in before the morning came and his father decided to wake him.

Nodding, Miki followed Ranma and got into the sleeping bag with him. It wasn't long before both were fast asleep.

xxA.N.xx

Chapter two is done, and boy was it a fun one to do. I'm not sure why, but maybe it had to do with doing Ranma's small Sailor Mau and Kitten adventure. Well, whatever the reason, I loved doing this chapter more than anything.

I think I might make a confrontation with the Gambler King in the next chapter. I'll have to plan it out a little bit and get to work on it.

And for a thing of interest, here are Ranma's current abilities that I've thought about.

_**Mao Yarn-Ball:**_ The skill can do two different things depending on what the end word is. _**Entangle**_ will wrap the person up so they can't move.

_**Explosion**_ will create a small explosion that will knock the person back.

_**Cat-Scratch Frenzy:**_ Jumping around the opponent at quick speeds, Ranma's claws will claw the opponent with lightning quick slashes. This can also be used with his feet.

_**Hypnotic Beam (Only usable in cat form):**_ A small beam that if directly contacts with the opponent will make them drowsy and ready to fall asleep.

_**Overly Cute Adorability:**_ It's not really a skill or attack, but it can put people off guard due to him being adorable and cute.


	3. A Hero, Gambling, and the Sauce

A Surviving Mau

Ranma ½ and Sailor Moon are owned by their respectful owners. I do not own anything about them at all.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

/cat talk/

Chapter 3

Nodoka gave an exasperated sigh as she gathered up the mail. It looked like it would all be bills and junk mail. The Saotome matriarch idly wondered why junk mail was sent out everywhere. Didn't those people realize that nobody even _**WANTED**_ the stuff at all? That was unless there were suckers out there who enjoyed this crap. The auburn-haired woman had to give a small laugh at that thought as she continued to look through the mail in her hand.

"Well, it looks like there's nothing of interest again toda--" She stopped in her speech when she noticed a letter that had actually been from her husband. He usually did send a letter each week to detail her on how their training trip was going. Nodoka may not have been able to be there to watch her child grow, but at least her husband was considerate enough to send cards and letters. Tearing open the letter with gusto, she began to read the current events that were happening with her 'displaced' family.

'_Dear Nodoka_

_The training trip has been going well without a hitch. Ranma is slowly becoming the martial artist that I hoped he would. He has even managed to master a martial arts technique that apparently not many could. This just goes to show much potential the boy has. The technique known as the Neko-ken had a couple odd side-effects, but it's nothing too major. There's a picture included of the side-effect so you can see it's nothing truly bad.'_

The part where it said 'odd side-effects' had put a little fear into the Saotome Matriarch's heart. Quickly grabbing the small and poorly taken photograph, her eyes blinked when she saw her son with a pair of cat-ears and a tail. They actually made him look really adorable. She idly wondered if having cat features would work that dreaded contract, but she tossed it out of her mind and wondered why she ever agreed to it. A small part of her at the moment really wished she could hold her son and fiddle around with his cat-ears. Shaking her head, the Saotome woman looked back at the photo to see her son holding a small pinkish kitten, and he was also standing next to a young brown-haired girl.

'_The boy managed to get a hold of a small kitten, and apparently he can also communicate with cats now due to the training he went through. I told him the cat would only distract him from the art, but does he listen? Not at all! He just uses his damn Neko-ken abilities to scratch and threaten me to not take her away. Such an ungrateful child! By the way, the kitten is named Miki, and the girl standing next to him is a friend of his he made named Ukyo.'_

Nodoka had to let loose a small giggle at her husband's complaining. The thought of a large and grown man being cowed by a young six-year-old cat-boy was both hilarious and cute at the same time. It was also great that her son found something to be responsible for, and it meant he'd probably grow into a good man. Then she was also glad that he made a friend while on the trip, and hopefully he wouldn't be too lonely. "I do hope he makes a lot of friends."

'_Our son's mastery over the Neko-ken was just enough incentive to completely throw away several other plans I had for if it didn't work. This will actually allow me to take him to other places that I planned on waiting a little while longer for, but I think the boy might be ready. In a few days, I am planning on taking our son to China. I've heard about a few good training areas that were over there, and taking him there would be good enough.'_

The thought of her son going all the way to China actually shocked the auburn-haired woman. That meant her son would be somewhat alone in a completely foreign country. Why couldn't they just stay here in Japan and finish the whole trip? "Why do I feel like this isn't a good idea?" She asked herself in slight worry. Genma would be with Ranma, so there would be no reason to worry.

'_There's no reason to worry about us. We will both be perfectly fine and safe. I'll be with the boy after-all, and we both know I can handle anything that would come our way. Well, this is the end of the letter, Nodoka. Hope you are doing well, and we'll see you when the training trip is over.'_

A frown formed on the Saotome matriarch's features as she read the last part of the letter. 'Why did I agree to all of this in the first place?' She asked herself as she pulled out the contract that her son had signed with his hand-print. 'It's because I want him to grow up and become a strong and capable man. Become a man who is capable of knowing right from wrong, and is willing to help those in need. That is the true definition of a man among men.'

But was she really going about it the right way? Was a seppuku contract to make sure this was realized really the right thing to do? 'I am sure my husband will manage to do the right thing.' A small smile graced her features. It had been stated by family and friends alike that her sense of honor was a tad bit skewed, and this contract would only fortify those claims. 'I don't know what to do.' She thought as she looked down at the paper in her hands. Honor was important, but so was family. Where did one draw the line?

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma ducked under a projectile spatula as he ran towards Ukyo. It had been a few days since the two Saotome's had stopped to stay at this place for a little while before getting back on the road. The young cat-boy could sense that there was a little restlessness in his father, and he figured that they would probably be leaving soon. It was something that happened a few other times before this. They'd stay in a spot for a little while, and then they would have to leave.

Jumping over another spatula, he landed in front of the brown-haired girl and sent a light punch her way. It was about four days ago when this little game had been first initiated. The game was actually training to help Ukyo get better in her skills, as well as allow the pony-tailed boy to get used to his reflexes. There had even been a smaller part to the game added. If Ranma won the little match, then he would get to have an okonomiyaki as a prize. If Ukyo won the match though, then Ranma would have to let her hold and carry him around in kitten form.

The young Kuonji had found out about her friend's ability to turn into a kitten a few days ago when she was sneaking around and spotted him transforming. It had become yet another thing about the young Saotome that she adored. Of course this info had also gotten out to the fathers as well. Genma had been fully convinced that it had been another effect of the Neko-ken, and that there could be so many uses to that form.

On the day of the six-year-old girl learning about the kitten form, she practically begged Ranma to stay in it for the whole day and allow her to carry him around and baby him like a real kitten. Needless-to-say, Miki had a real kick out of it and laughed her kitten butt off. The raven-haired boy wouldn't admit it, but there was something about it that he liked. It was similar to when that one girl carried him around that night.

"Hya!" Ukyo yelled as she blocked the punch and attempted to send one of her own towards her friend's forehead. The young Saotome bent backwards to dodge the punch and grabbed hold of the girl and gave a toss that sent her flying. The okonomiyaki chef-in-training landed on her stomach, but managed to jump to her feet in time to dodge a kick from the blue-eyed boy. Her next move was an elbow attack that managed to clip the boy on the shoulder.

A wince escaped Ranma as he took the blow, but he managed to shrug it off and grab hold of the arm and jump behind the Kuonji girl. Holding the arm behind her back, he put a finger to her neck. "Do we keep going, or do you want to give up, Ucchan?"

Ukyo knew that if she tried to keep going, her friend would be able to act faster with her in this position. "Fine, you win." She stated with a grumble. So far the win/lose ratio for this game was Ranma: 3 and Ukyo: 2. The raven-haired boy got a little confident during the first day this game started and decided to challenge her again, but he ended up losing. It wasn't too bad of a total, considering that it was hard to beat the boy with his cat-like reflexes.

The cat-boy gave a small cry in joy as he ran towards the yattai and accepted an okonomiyaki from the older Kuonji. Mr. Kuonji had actually been happy to give him free food. Due to the young boy hanging around so much, his small business was actually booming. Many of the people who stopped by and saw him couldn't resist the urge to buy an okonomiyaki. There was just something about Ranma that attracted people like that.

The oddest thing happened about three days ago though. The large and serious captain of the Osaka Metropolitan Police stopped by and had a little interest in the young Saotome.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx _**(Three days ago)**_

Police Captain Yusuke Hikosho glanced curiously at the young boy who seemed to have cat features. It fully reminded him of the young hero with the same features about him. He was determined to get to the bottom of this, and so he walked up to the Kuonji patriarch's yattai and struck up a conversation with him. "Excuse me Kuonji-san," he began in a gruff voice, "but I was wondering about the little boy over there."

Looking at the large officer in a little confusion, Ukyo's father decided to ask the question. "What is it you were wondering, officer?"

"I was wondering if you ever noticed that boy using any kind of special skills, and if you knew how he got those ears and tail." It was most likely a shot in the dark, but it was worth a try anyway.

Kuonji thought for a few moments before answering. "I'm sorry officer, but I haven't noticed any special skills other than the boy being a martial-artist-in-training." He did wonder what was going on. Maybe it had to so something with the small footage on the news about that mysterious cat-boy hero. The okonomiyaki chef actually found himself wondering if Ranma and the cat-boy were one in the same. There were many similarities, but there were some things that just didn't seem right about it. "As for the cat features, they are due to a martial arts training exercise involving cats that his father, Genma Saotome, put him through. In fact, I believe I still have the manual here." Genma had actually forgotten to take the manual back, and so the bearded chef had the pleasure of showing it to the captain.

Yusuke blinked as he found out that it seemed to be the truth. He then decided to read more into the pamphlet, and his face became increasingly pale as he read the procedure to learning the skill, and the page that had previously been stuck together. His pale face turned an interesting shade of red as he looked up at the chef. "That man actually did this a few times to a six-year-old boy?"

Kuonji gave a sage nod and also pointed towards the small kitten that Ranma was holding. "That little kitten Ranma is holding was also one of the cats that were starved and trapped in the dark pit. Apparently from what I heard the child say, all the cats looked sickly and about ready to fall over when he saved and fed them." The man's smile was hidden behind his beard as he watched the police captain seethe with pure rage.

"It is not looking too good for this Genma Saotome fellow. He's already crossed the line with his willful child endangerment and animal cruelty." The reddened man stated as he turned around and took out a whistle. Putting it to his lips, he gave a loud blow. It wasn't too long before over a dozen cops appeared on the scene. "Gentlemen, I want the entire police force to look for a man named Genma Saotome. Bring his ass in by force if you have to."

They all gave a salute and a loud confirmation before they commenced on their search for their prey. Yusuke, meanwhile, decided to walk up and talk to the young boy who piqued his curiosity. "Excuse me," he began a he knelt down, "but would you happen to know anything about a young cat-boy super hero?" If this boy really was one in the same, then it would be easy to get a confirmation. Little kids were known to blurt out big secrets and all.

Ranma looked up at the man and tilted his head. He recognized the large and muscular guy from the group of police that he met not too long ago, and the guy was apparently asking about his Sailor Mau form. "Oh yes police-san." The young Saotome stated with big eyes. "I saw a picture of him in a paper. He looked so cool and strong. I wish I could be just like him." He hated to lie, but both Miki and he knew that keeping this a tight secret was very important. "Oh, do you know who he is?"

The captain of the O.M.P gave a small smile and closed his eyes. Either the child was very good at trying to keep it a secret, or there was no way they could be one in the same. Looking back at the azure eyes full of curiosity, he found himself wanting to just grab hold and hug the boy. That would, however, be a little on the weird side. "No, I don't know who he is, but I was hoping you would be him."

The raven-haired boy tilted his head again. "Why would I be him? I'm just a martial artist who'll be the best in the whole world some day." This was actually kind of fun. "Oh, maybe the cat-boy is actually an alien or something, police-san." It was really hard to keep this all a secret, but it was something he had to do.

A chuckle escaped the large man. With all the curiosity that this child seemed to have over the mysterious cat-boy youth, then there was no way they could be one in the same. There was a possibility that he wasn't giving this child enough credit, but he was only six-years-old. "Maybe he is an alien. Now tell me Ranma, what does your father look like? He did something bad, and he needs a small talking to."

'Why is papa in trouble?' The raven-haired cat-boy asked himself as he tried to figure out what he could have done. 'If he really did to something bad, then I should tell the police. It is their job to punish people for bad things.' With his mind made up, the untransformed Senshi gave a smile. "He's a big fat man in a white gi and bandana. He also has glasses and has just a little black hair."

Yusuke gave the boy a pat on the head. "Thank you for your help, Ranma. Now, maybe you should stick close to Kuonji-san and his daughter for a little while." If they did manage to capture the boy's father, then he'd be in jail for quite a while.

"Ok, police-san"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx _**(Present)**_

Kuonji gave a small shake to his head as he thought about it. They hadn't seen the boy's father since, and so they had decided to have Ranma and his kitten sleep over at their house. It was quite cute to see all three sleeping in the same bed. What really troubled the okonomiyaki chef was how Ranma mentioned that this had happened a couple times before. His father would anger a few people -- monks, priests, police, and similar -- and have to run away without picking up Ranma first. The boy would then be cared for by those people until his father came back a few days later after the coast was clear to take him and run.

It was enough to make one wonder just how the boy would be able to survive on this so called 'training trip' with a man like that. Maybe the Kuonji patriarch could try and do something for the boy. Ranma apparently didn't know where his mom was, or if he still even had one. 'Hmm… would that even work? Maybe I could try something like that.' He thought to himself as he got an idea. Looking down, he noticed the child in question was waiting for an okonomiyaki. Giving a small chuckle, he put one on a place and handed it to the pony-tailed boy.

"Thank you, Kuonji-san!" The young Saotome announced as he turned around and made his way to where Ukyo and Miki were stationed. Sitting down, he claimed a third of the food, while the girl and kitten each claimed a third of their own. It was really good this time for some reason.

"So Ranchan," the brown-haired girl whispered with a side-long glance, "do you think I could ever make it as your side-kick?" That question caused her friend to almost choke on his food before looking at the Kuonji girl. It had been another thing he was careless about around the girl two days ago.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx _**(Two-days ago)**_

"Come on Ranchan, I'm hungry." Ukyo complained as she watched her friend clean up around the camping area Genma and he had previously used. Since Ranma was currently staying with the Kuonjis, they thought it would be a good idea to pick up the camping equipment so nothing would get stolen.

Dragging both traveling packs behind him, the young Saotome gave a smile. "Alright Ucchan, let's go." It was slightly difficult to carry two packs at once as they dragged against the ground, but it wasn't impossible. As the two were walking back to where the yattai was, they heard a little commotion on the other side of the bushes. Poking their heads through, the boy, girl, and kitten watched as three people seemed to confront the Kuonji patriarch. "Who are they?" The pony-tailed boy asked curiously.

"They look like Yakuza." The brown-haired girl answered back with a frown. She noticed the look of confusion on her friend's face. "They are bad people." Making her way out of the bushes, she ran up to the yattai and glared at the men. "Hey ya jackasses, get away from my father!" She yelled while holding a couple mini spatulas.

"Ukyo, get away from them." Her father snapped before turning his attention towards the men in black suits and sunglasses. "I apologize for my daughter's energy. I must say, though, that I have no need for your 'protection' services or anything." The Kuonji patriarch finished with a frown.

One of the men pushed up his glasses. "Are you sure about that, Kuonji-san? You are aware that bad things can happen to those in business at times. Our protection would help you for if something bad ever happens. All we ask would be a small fee from your earnings." The guy finished smoothly with a smile. Sometimes he loved this job.

"Daddy doesn't need you, so get out of here." Ukyo snapped with a glare. Who did these people think they were? They just couldn't come here and demand things out of the blue and all.

"You should really learn to control your daughter's energy, Kuonji-san." One of the other men with purple hair in a pony-tail stated as he grabbed the girl by the arm and pulled her close. "Anybody could possibly swoop down and take an uncontrollable girl like this. Then where would you be?" The young Kuonji struggled against the grip and started calling the men a few colorful names. "The girl needs to really learn some manners." The purple-haired man stated with a frown as he pushed the girl into the Yakuza with blonde-hair. The blonde man picked Ukyo up by the collar of her top and held her in the air in an attempt to scare her a little.

"Alright, you win, I'll agr--" The okonomiyaki chef didn't get to finish what he was going to say as a blur jumped out of the bushes and landed in front of the three men. Everyone looked to see the cat-boy who had been rumored about in the news. On his swishing tail was a small gold bow.

"Trying to get someone to agree to something by force through harming a young child are signs of true cowards." The young boy stated with a finger pointed to the group. "In the name of bravery and truth," a small pose was made with his hands positioned as claws, "you are the mice that I will devour-nya!"

Everyone around the area stopped what they were doing and gained a small sweat-drop at the sight of the small cat-boy in gold and black. "He… really is adorable." They all said at once. The news media had reported about it, but the images and footage weren't really good to look at.

Not waiting for anyone to get back onto their mental footing, Ranma shot forward towards the man with blonde hair and gave a kick against his knee. The Yakuza dropped Ukyo and the Senshi of Mau caught her in his arms and jumped several feet away to set her down. "Are you alright, Ucchan?" He asked in concern.

The brown-haired girl was about to nod when what the boy in front of her registered in her mind. "Did you just call me Ucchan?" Sure she had a couple friends at school who called her Ucchan once in a while, but they were girls. The only boy who called her Ucchan was… "Ranma?" She whispered out? The boy in front of her also had the same cat-ears, tail, hair color, and azure eyes as her friend. If he wouldn't have called her by her nickname Ucchan, then she wouldn't have thought about it.

"Dang it." The Senshi let out. There went the whole super secret super hero thing. "Please Ucchan; you have to keep this secret-nya." Getting a nod from his friend, he smiled and turned around. Leaping off the ground, he hovered a little in the air as he began to chant his attack. "Mau Yarn-Ball Entangle!" He shouted out as he tossed the ball of yarn. The energy yarn managed to capture all three Yakuza since they were grouped together. Pointing a hand forward, the raven-haired boy then gave a shout of 'Explosion'. The result was a small explosion that managed to knock out all three men.

As she watched it all, sparkles formed in Ukyo's eyes. 'Wow, Ranma's so cool! He's actually a super hero!' She then watched as her friend made an escape away from the area. It was then just a moment later when he popped out of the bushes with Miki and dragging both packs in his normal gi. Smiling wide, the okonomiyaki chef-to-be ran up to the boy. "Ranchan, I need to talk to ya."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx _**(Present)**_

"Well," Ranma began, "you might be able to if you trained a little more, got a costume, and some other stuff." A small frown came to the boy. "But like I said, my powers came from an alien cat-lady and all. I don't know how you'd ever be able to get any."

A look of determination came to the brown-haired girl. "I'll find a way someday, Ranchan. Someday we can both fight crime side-by-side. Maybe I'll be the Spatula or something." She proceeded to shake her head. "If I used any of the skills I have, I'd be figured out immediately." She stated with a pout.

Ranma pat his friend on the back. "Don't worry Ucchan. You're smart, and I'm sure you will figure it out-nya." The use of 'nya' caused his friend to bust out giggling. "When transformed I say it a lot, but not transformed I still do it sometimes." The young Saotome stated with a blush.

"I think it suits ya, Ranchan." Ukyo stated with a bright smile. "Ya are part cat, and it would be weird if a cat didn't meow or anything." She actually wished she could have ears and a tail of her own. It would be so interesting if they could be mouse-ears and a tail. Then they could be a fun little pair. The raven-haired boy gave a reluctant nod as Miki went to sleep in his arms. "Ranchan, the Autumn Festival will be starting tonight. Would ya like to come?"

"The Autumn Festival?"

"Yeah, it's a festival where people can play games, eat snacks, and all kinds of other things. It'll be really fun." The young okonomiyaki lover remembered going to the festival last year and having so much fun. "Come on, it'll be fun."

Ranma thought about it for a small second. He'll be able to have all kinds of snacks at that place, and the thought of games sounds fun. "Alright, I'll go with you." It has been a long time since he had been to a festival. He could vaguely remember what they were like.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma looked around in awe as he made his way around the festival. Miki's eyes were also wide as she looked around from her perch on Ranma's head. The pony-tailed boy was currently munching on some dango. They were so good on his taste-buds that he almost wanted to purr.

He was glad that Ukyo's father had given them each a little money to use for snacks and games while he decided to work at his yattai for the festival. Of course, he had used most of the money on snacks and food, but that was inevitable with him. It was almost like nothing could spoil the moment.

"Ranchan!!" Turning around, the pony-tailed boy watched as his friend ran up to him with tears in the corner of her eyes. "Ya have to help me, Ranchan. There's some jackass taking money and things from kids. I tried to help the kids, but I lost all my money as well as my daddy's yattai."

The sight of his friend near tears angered the cat-boy. "Alright, leave it to me. I'll get everything back. Just lead me to where the person is." Whoever the guy was, he would pay.

"Alright, but I have an idea." Ukyo stated with a smile as she dragged her friend off. She knew her friend could do something about it.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Step right up children, the Gambler King accepts all challengers of the child variety. Try your luck at winning against me, but I should warn you all, I have never been beaten." A man shouted as he sat on a small box. Surrounding him was all sorts of valuables and money that he had taken from children. There were also other forms of games stationed as well. Kids were mulling around the guy whose face looked like the one of the King on a card.

It was at that moment in which Ukyo stepped up to the area. "You're going to lose, Gambler King." She said with a look of determination on her face as her arms were crossed.

"Ohohohoho, so the spunky young girl who lost it all thinks she can beat me?" He started to shuffle a deck of cards. "Did you not learn from your earlier experience, my dear?"

A smirk played across the brown-haired girl's features. "Oh, I'm not going to be the one challenging you." She gave a wave to a person standing just a little away from her. "He's going to be the one to challenge you."

The King's eyes looked over to see a young cat-boy dressed in black and gold, and he recognized him immediately from the boy who has been the talk of the media. "Well, well, well, it looks like my exploits have even reached the mysterious cat-boy hero." The proclamation had caused several people around the area to stop and watch as the boy in black and gold stood there. Many whispered on about him being incredibly adorable. "So, what will the game of choice be? Old Maid?"

Ranma gave a small nod as he sat down on a cardboard box and accepted the cards. Internally he was panicking. He had no clue how to play this game, and no clue how to get any of the stuff back. 'What am I going to do? What am I going to do?' He kept thinking to himself. He frowned as he looked down at the cards and looked at the surface of each one.

It was at that point -- after sitting down, collecting the cards, and looking at them -- that something in his mind clicked, and various images, information, and memories flooded his mind. The young Senshi was able to identify it all as belonging to the former Senshi of Mau. As he observed the small bit of information that he had gained, he came to one conclusion. 'The cat-lady was a good gambler.' He thought to himself as the information upload stopped and he looked down at the cards.

Looking up at the odd-looking man, the cat-boy gave a feral smile. "Ok, let's do this, Gambler King-nya." Taking a little money out, he put it on the ground. "I will be playing for Ukyo's okonomiyaki yattai-nya!" The King nodded and motioned for the game to begin by saying that the boy had no hope at all.

Immediately, Ranma noticed that he had the joker in his hands. Using a little of the knowledge he just got, he pushed the card up just a little bit. The large man's hand came in and picked up the card as planned. Now the young Saotome's turn, he reached over to take a card from the man. He thought it a little odd that the man's face became a little happy. Switching to another card, he saw the face become sad. Smiling a little, he grabbed that card and found out it was a two. That made a pair of twos that he would be able to toss to the ground.

The game went on for a few moments. The young Senshi managed to always dodge the joker by watching the face of his opponent closely. The guy apparently didn't realize his emotions were dooming him. In the end, it was the Gambler King who had the joker, and Ranma won Ukyo's father's yattai back. "It looks like you lose-nya."

"N-- No, it c-- can't be. I've never lost a game before in my life!" The odd-looking man stated in disbelief. "It must have been a fluke! I challenge you to another game." He put down the money he stole from Ukyo. "You won't win this time."

It was several moments later during which the outcome of the game turned out to be the same as the previous one. Ukyo squealed and glomped onto her friend. "Thank you so much Sailor Mau!" The use of that name caused many people to murmur. They finally knew the name of the mysterious cat-boy.

"Humph, so your name is Sailor Mau." The Gambler King stated in annoyance as he shuffled the cards again. "Fine, I challenge you to a little game of poker this time." This time he put a large teddy bear that he 'obtained' from a young girl down as a prize. "Let's see how good you are with this game!"

The outcome was the same, and this time the prize went to the little girl who lost the bear in the first place. Next came a toy airplane to a boy, some money, a 'deed' to a car, several 'deeds' to various things of interest, jewelry, more money, and the final thing happened to be the clothes off the Gambler King's back.

"Y-- you little b-- bastard." The man stated as he stood there shivering. Pulling out some cards from somewhere, he tossed them ar Ranma like shrunken. The Senshi of Mau used his claws to shred the projectiles and gave a feral smile towards the man who had lost everything.

"A man who takes advantage of children because he can't face those of his own age is dishonorable." The raven-haired cat-boy picked up a few cards in his hand. "In the name of children and the innocent," he gave a toss to the card which hit the King's hat and knocked it off to reveal dozens of cards, "you have lost your hand-nya." He then showed a royal straight flush to the large shivering man who fell to his knees in rage and anguish.

There was then a round of applause from the gathered spectators. "Bravo Sailor Mau, bravo." Ranma turned around to see Police Captain Yusuke walking up to him. "Your sense of justice is a refreshing thing to see in the youth of today." He smiled as he extended a hand. "Captain Yusuke of the Osaka Metropolitan Police."

The young boy returned the smile with a bright one of his own. "I'm Sailor Mau of the Planet Mau-nya." His expression turned into one of sadness. "But everybody on Mau was killed by an evil woman named Sailor Galaxia." He gave a small pout as he thought of it. He had had a small nightmare a few days ago where he watched both the planet and Sailor Mau being attacked.

Many people had to resist trying to give the boy a hug. Even pouting he seemed so adorable. "I'm sorry to hear about that, Sailor Mau." Yusuke stated with a sad look on his face. He knew that the loss of lives was a sad experience himself, and it also shocked him that the boy did indeed come from another planet. "Say, maybe the Osaka Metropolitan Police could make a spot for on our police force. With the way you handled the guy with the bomb and those Yakuza men, I'm sure your skills would be a welcomed thing."

Ranma's expression brightened considerably. "Really?!" He asked in shock and awe. He'd be able to help the police in getting bad guys. There was something else that crushed the idea though. "I'm sorry Yusuke-san, but I'm traveling and will only be staying here for just a little while longer." He knew that as soon as his father got back, they'd be gone.

"That's a real shame." The large police captain stated with a frown. "The offer will always be open for if you change your mind though, Sailor Mau." The boy's abilities really would have been a good asset.

"I'll remember that, Yusuke-san-nya." The pony-tailed boy turned his head to look at the kneeling Gambler King. "What about that man who attempts to take and cheat money and items from kids. I caught him cheating many times-nya."

Yusuke's expression became a smirk. "I think I know a proper place for this guy."

The King of Gambling sent an intense glare towards the young Saotome. 'Just you wait, Sailor Mau. I will remember this little insult, and I will pay you back for it some day.'

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was a day later in which Ranma found his friend looking over a piece of paper, and around her were various different ingredients and a large jar. Curiously, he walked up to her and looked at the paper. "Whatcha doing Ucchan?" He asked as he tried to look at whatever it was.

"It's my father's secret sauce recipe. I kind of took it out of the house without him knowing." The brown-haired girl stated with a small blush. If her father knew the stole the recipe, she'd be in big trouble. "I have to follow the recipe exactly like it says." She proceeded to add the ingredients to the jar. The young Saotome didn't really understand a thing of what she was doing. All he knew was that she poured stuff in, measured things, and added them together. It was kind of boring to watch, but he still found himself sitting there and observing her.

Finally, the budding okonomiyaki martial artist and chef placed a seal over the top and stuck it in the bushes. "Now it just has to sit and ferment for 10 years. It's going to be so great, Ranchan. It'll really show how much of a chef I am!" Turning around, she began to run away from the area. "I'll be right back, Ranchan. I need to take this recipe back home before daddy notices."

After watching his friend leave, the pony-tailed boy walked up to the jar and began to sniff it a little. The slight odor coming from the jar smelled so good, and he also wondered how it tasted. He was sure his friend wouldn't mind if he took a small taste, right? It would only be a small taste, and there would be no harm in it.

/Stop right there, Ranma./ Miki commanded with a small frown. The command stopped the Saotome from reaching for the top of the jar. /Didn't Ukyo say it had to sit for 10 years?/

"Well, yeah she did, but I want a taste now." The six-year-old whined with a small pout as he looked at his cat friend. "Would there really be any harm in taking a small taste?"

/What if you accidentally spilled the sauce? How would Ukyo feel after she worked so hard in preparing it? Would you really want your friend angry at you?/ The pinkish kitten didn't think the boy could handle his only human friend being angry. /Maybe you'll be able to try it in 10 years. It might be worth the wait./

Ranma hung his head as he stepped away from the jar. "You're right, Miki. It wouldn't be right for me to try and steal a taste. I might drop it and make Ucchan mad at me." A slight smile appeared on his features. "In 10 years I'll be able to try it."

A bright smile appeared on Miki as she jumped into the boy's arms. /I'm sure it will turn out to be the greatest sauce ever. Ukyo is going to be a chef someday, right?/ It only made sense for a chef-to-be to get good at something.

"That's right; I bet Ucchan is going to be the best okonomiyaki chef in the world." The pony-tailed cat-boy stated with his own bright expression as his tail swished around. The two waited for a few more moments until they heard the steps of somebody running towards them.

"I'm back, Ranchan!" The brown-haired girl stated as she skidded to a halt next to her friend. "Oh, and I saw your father too."

"Really, what's he doing?"

"I think my father wanted to have a small talk with him or something. I'm not sure what was going on." The older Kuonji had that look he got in his eye whenever he had a small plan going on. When he got that look in his eye, it meant he was up to something. 'Would it be bad for Saotome-san?'

Ranma gave a small shrug at the information. It wasn't like it was anything really important. Grabbing his friend's hand, he pulled her along. "Come on, let's go play on the swings." He received a smile in return as the girl followed him.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma watched with a hint of boredom as Ukyo's father was showing her some of the proper ways of throwing a spatula. The target they were using was a normal circle target. Next to the young Saotome was his father who seemed to be slightly fidgety for some reason. The blue-eyed boy decided that maybe he had to go to the bathroom or something, and it was hard to hold it in.

"So boy, which do you like better? Okonomiyaki or Ukyo?" The overweight Saotome asked in a whisper.

"I like Ucchan, and it would be great if we never had to leave." The pony-tailed boy stated with a wide smile towards his father. "I don't want to leave."

As he continued to watch his friend practice, he wasn't aware of his father's fist slowly rising into the air, nor was he aware that the fist was heading his way. He was aware, though, of the pain that he felt on the back of his head before darkness claimed him and he crumpled to the ground. /RANMA!/ Miki yelled before she was picked up by the scruff of the neck.

Hearing the loud noise of the pinkish kitten, Ukyo and her father turned around to see Genma pick up his unconscious son and the small kitten. He then placed them on the okonomiyaki yattai and started speeding off away from the area. "Hey, come back with Ranchan and Michan you idiot!!" The brown-haired girl yelled at the top of her lungs. When the man kept on going and fading off into the distance, a few tears started streaming down her eyes. "I didn't want them to go, daddy!" She cried to her father.

"I can't believe the bastard took the cart!" The Kuonji patriarch shouted in outrage. Looking down at his daughter, he gave a small smile and pulled out a piece of paper. "Take a look at this, Ukyo. Genma was kind enough to actually sign this when I treated him a bar yesterday."

With tears still streaming down her eyes, the six-year-old girl took a look at the paper and started to read. "I, Genma Saotome, give up my legal rights as guardian and parent of Ranma Saotome to Toshiro Kuonji." There was a bunch of other stuff there, but she couldn't understand it. "What does this mean, daddy, and why did you do it?"

Toshiro gave a wide smile. "What it means is that if we ever find Ranma again, he would effectively be almost like a brother to you." The wide-eyed look his daughter gave him was so cute. "As for the reason I did it. Well, after hearing about what that man puts his son through, I wanted to take him away and give him better."

Ukyo jumped into her father's arms. "You're the best daddy in the whole world!" She cried out with a look of glee. "Do you think we'll ever find Ranchan though?" The girl was also worried about Miki as well. There was no telling what could all happen to them.

"I'm sure we'll find him someday, Ukyo. Now I just need to figure out what to do now that I don't have my damn Yattai." The older Kuonji grumbled out in annoyance. "That jackass will pay for what he did."

"Yeah, teach that jackass he's wrong!"

"Hey, watch your mouth."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma groaned as he woke up from his punch-induced nap. Looking around, he noticed that they were nowhere near where Ukyo and her father were. That didn't make sense though. The okonomiyaki yattai was right there, although his father was pigging out on the food. "What happened?" He asked softly as he sat up.

"Ah, Ranma, you're awake!" Genma announced as he pushed a small plate of okonomiyaki to his son. "The Kuonjis were nice enough to give us this cart as a parting gift, so eat up. There's plenty of food in this thing." He wouldn't tell his son the truth about it though.

/Don't eat it, Ranma!/ Miki shouted from next to the boy who was about to eat. /Your father stole the cart from Ukyo and her father. When he knocked you out, and grabbed the cart and ran away while Ukyo yelled after us and telling your father to bring us back. I also managed to look back and see her crying./

As soon as the kitten finished the explanation of what happened, the six-year-old went as stiff as a bored. "Papa stole the cart from Ucchan and her father?" This caused the older Saotome to slightly stiffen. "Ucchan was crying because papa took us away along with the cart he stole?" Ranma's body began to tremble a bit. "Papa, why did you do it-nya?" He was also losing slight control of the use of 'nya' due to his emotions.

"Now look here boy. This yattai was a gift, and Ukyo was only sad to see you having to leave. Miki is just saying a bunch of nonsense because she's a stupid cat. Now help me eat up the food we won't be able to carry." The man winced when he saw the look in his son's eyes.

"Papa… I can sense that you are lying, and Miki is not a stupid cat. She knows a lot of stuff-nya." Azure eyes suddenly narrowed into an almost predator-like state. "You knocked me out, stole something that Ucchan's dad needed, made Ucchan cry, called Miki stupid, and lied to me-nya." He began to flex his claws as his body trembled with uncontrollable anger and sadness. "Like Ucchan said, you are a _**JACKASS-NYA**_!!" Bolting from his seating position, he lunged at his father. "She was the only human friend I had-nya!"

"Wait-- no-- not the face-- NO TEETH!! What are you doi-- don't kick me there-- GAHH!!!" Miki winced several times as she watched Ranma's rage take over as he unleashed it upon his father.

'Ranma's scary when he's angry.' She noted to herself with a shiver. The young kitten never knew the boy even had it in him. 'I don't think Ranma will be able to forgive him easily for this.'

After taking out his rage on his father, the pony-tailed martial artist took a few deep breaths to calm himself and wipe the tears from the corner of his eyes. Turning around, he took off running and started to climb a tree until he got to the first branch. Sitting down on the branch, he shook his head. 'You are a jackass papa-- no, father.'

xxA.Nxx

Whee, another chapter finished. Next up on the way is the trip to China.

I am also thinking that when it comes to Ranma's Senshi forms between birth and cursed form, that his male Senshi form would focus more on magically induced melee and a few projectile attacks, while his female Senshi form would focus more on magical attacks with a little melee.


	4. The Fractured Promise of A Father

A Surviving Mau

Ranma ½ and Sailor Moon are owned by their respectful owners. I do not own anything about them at all.

Thanks to CyberSkaarj for pre-reading

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

/cat talk/

//Signs//

Chapter 4

Genma glanced back at his son with a slight frown on his face. For the past three days, the boy had been walking with his head lowered and Miki looking up at him in concern. Ranma was still energetic and took to their sparring matches like water, but it was like something had kind of died in the boy whenever those azure eyes looked at the older Saotome. It had only been a few days ago when the raven-haired cat-boy had seemed to look up to him with respect and call him 'papa'. Now it seemed like the boy had lost that respect and now only called him 'father' instead.

Maybe it really was too much of a thing to do what he had done, but he didn't think it would affect his son. Hell, it was just several days ago that Ranma had thought everything was just a fun little game. The overweight martial artist wouldn't willingly show it, but he loved his son, and the sudden change in the boy hit him hard. He didn't really understand why it hit him so hard though. During the training with Happosai, he lost all respect for the pervert and showed it. The diminutive pervert never seemed to care and just went on doing whatever.

Maybe, just maybe, this was because the six-year-old boy was his own flesh and blood, and he had known the boy since birth. Now, because of the ingrained training and all due to Happosai, the balding man had probably lost all respect and love his own son had for him. 'Just roll with it, Genma ol' boy. It was inevitable that something like this would happen, and it is not wise for a martial artist to show any emotional weakness.' But why did it seem to affect him so.

"Papa," a small voice from behind him announced. The use of that word caused the man to look around quickly. He saw that Ranma still had his head turned downwards, and it looked like he was deep in thought. "I'm sorry I called you a jackass and have been acting so rude to you." Looking up towards his father, it was revealed that his eyes seemed sad. "It's just that you did so many bad things, and it made me feel really bad-nya!"

Genma stared towards his son for several minutes before giving a small smile and walking towards him. Stopping in front of his son, he rested a hand on the boy's head. "Ranma, a martial artist's life is fraught with peril, and some things must happen for the betterment of the ar--"

"Promise me you won't do bad things again, papa." The six-year-old interrupted with eyes full of hope. "You're the best martial artist ever, and you should have a strong sense of justice and good-nya." What is father had done a few days ago had just been a mistake on the man's part, right? Everybody does bad things sometimes. "Please papa?"

Genma was having a complete inner struggle raging on within him. He didn't want to give it all up or anything, but the hope on his son's face was also a strong deterrent. 'What the boy doesn't know won't hurt him.' Giving a small smile, he patted his son on the head. "Alright Ranma," he began, "I promise I won't do any really bad things again." It was a small lie, and small lies can't really hurt anything, right?

A large smile came to the cat-boy's face as he jumped into the large man to give him a hug. "I knew you were a good man, papa-nya! It was only a small mistake on your part that you did it, and I shouldn't have doubted you." Ranma didn't notice the slight frown on his father's face at what he had just said. He also didn't notice the frown that Miki sent to his father.

Replacing the frown with a smile, Genma pushed his son to arm's length from him and stood up. "So boy, are you ready to continue on our journey and head to China?" He asked with a fist held high. It seemed that he hadn't lost too much respect and all from his son in the first place. He'd have to be careful about what he did around his son though.

A bright smile appeared on the young Saotome's face as he nodded vigorously. "I'm ready papa!" He shouted with a look of determination on his face. His father had told him that China was a whole other country, and that it was away from where they were. Picking up Miki in his arms, began to follow the older Saotome. His respect for his father had returned.

'I hope Genma really meant what he said.' The pinkish kitten in Ranma's arms thought with a small frown. If he betrayed the pony-tailed boy's trust again, then it would probably be devastating.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was about six more days before the trio managed to find their way to the Sea of Japan, and the trek had been one of interest. It was three days ago when they ended up with some weirdo named Masaru Hananakajima. The guy was just plain weird, and the school club he formed was even stranger to the young six-year-old. It made the young Saotome wonder what 'Sexy Commando' was.

Genma had told Ranma that 'Sexy Commando' was just some inferior form of martial arts that they shouldn't even be wasting their time with. Of course that comment kind of angered Hananakajima and had caused the teen to pull the young boy aside and tell him what it _**REALLY**_ was, much to the annoyance of the overweight martial artist.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx _**(Three Days Ago)**_

Ranma looked up in pure confusion at the weird teenager who had pulled him aside. The guy wore regular blue pants, a long sleeved white T-shirt, and on his shoulders were some odd metal rings. The guy's hair was also longer on the side of his head as it traveled in kind of a limp arc. "Now you shall learn the true info of Sexy Commando." Masaru waved his hand for a second. "But first you need a nickname."

"A nickname?" The cat-boy asked as he tilted his head and watched the man in front of him go deep into thought. This guy was kind of on the weird side.

The oddly dressed teen snapped his fingers. "Ah, I know what your name shall be! From now on, I shall refer to you as konekoniku-chan." He announced with a large smile. The other people from his club gave a sweat-drop.

"Why the hell would you call him Kitten Meat?!" A skinny boy with short black hair yelled in exasperation. "I mean sure, he does have cat features and all, but..." He stopped right there and shook his head. Logic around Masaru was always dead.

Ranma gave a small shrug at this. It was strange, but it really wasn't that weird. "Now, Konekoniku-chan, I will explain to you the true power of Sexy Commando!" Masaru shouted with a fist raised in the air. "The true secret of Sexy Commando that makes it the most powerful martial arts in the world that it is," the six-year-old was hanging on every word, "the ability to distract your opponent!"

"That's it?" The raven-haired young boy asked with a blink. How could distracting someone be a great martial arts technique? "How does that make it powerful, Hananakajima-san?" the young Saotome asked curiously.

"I'm so glad you asked that question, Konekoniku-chan." Masaru stated with his arms crossed. "In Sexy Commando, one must be able to distract an opponent. Everyone knows that being distracted in battle can mean the worst thing possible. A distraction can cost someone a win, and even their life."

Ranma nodded his head vigorously with huge eyes as he listened to every word of the teen. "That's so cool, Hananakajima-san-nya! You must be great at it." His azure eyes didn't notice the oddly dressed teen's club-mates roll their eyes a little.

The raven-haired teen started to a chuckle. "I can see that you are a natural though, Konekoniku-chan! With your twitching cat ears, that swishing tail, your six-year-old nature, and those adorable nya's, you are a natural distraction."

"Oh please," Genma started with annoyance, "when it comes down to it, normal martial arts is the way to go. If the distraction doesn't work, then you have lost." This goof had some nerve trying to fill his son's head with useless information. There was some truth to being distracted, but it wouldn't work all the time.

"Papa has a small point. He is a great martial artist." The young Saotome stated with a look of respect. In his arms, Miki gave a small nod in agreement.

Masaru gave a smile and thumbs-up. "Then how about we have a small match?" He wanted to show this young boy the wonders of the Sexy Commando. With a nod from Genma, the two men faced off in the grass. The overweight martial artist waited for the oddly dressed teen to make the first move.

Ranma watched curiously as the Sexy Commando practitioner gave a deep breath before he threw his arms apart and waved them up and down slowly. The teen then lowered his hands to his pants and started to unzip the zipper. It wasn't a few seconds later before his pants fell down to his ankles and revealed a pair of blue boxers. With a loud shout, Masaru ran towards the six-year-old's father with his pants still at his ankles.

Genma gave a sweat-dropped as he watched the weird teen run towards him. Raising his arms in a ready stance, he watched as the boy jumped over him and landed from behind. Turning quickly, he watched as his opponent began attending to a small flower that was swaying a little in the breeze.

"Ah the beauty of a flower swaying in the breeze." Hananakajima stated with a placid smile on his face. A split second later, he sent a punch aimed for the older man's head. To his shock, however, Genma caught the punch and gave a smile before the bespectacled man let loose with a quick punch of his own. The odd thing was, the young teen vanished in thin air with a small action figure in place of him. "Sexy Commando Body Replacement Technique." The oddly dressed teen simply stated with a smile from behind.

Eyes narrowing at feeling the boy going to act, the balding martial artist ducked under the punch heading his way and proceeded to do a leg sweep that knocked Masaru off his feet. The fat man had then proceeded to raise a leg and quickly slam it down onto the teen's face hard. This action sent the kid into the ground. "As the phrase goes: You are 100 years too early to defeat me. So take your Sexy Commando nonsense and try not to fill my son's head with it again. No seasoned martial artist would ever fall for something stupid like that."

The downed teen raised a fist with a small smile on his face. "It looks like I will have to train a lot more before I challenge you again, Saotome-san. The next time you see me, we shall do battle again. Defeat is but the next step unto greatness."

Genma gave a shrug before he motioned to his son and Miki to hurry up and come on. Ranma nodded vigorously as he gave a bow to those of the Sexy Commando club and ran to catch up with his father. Sexy Commando seemed lame, but there was some truth to distraction. The young Saotome just didn't think that unzipping the pants was the right way to go.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx _**(Present)**_

Ranma looked upon the large body of water that they stopped at. With a small blink, he looked towards his father in confusion. "What do we do now, papa? Do we get a boat or something?" He did have some money from when he beat that Gambler King, but he hadn't shown it to his father yet.

"Of course not, boy. Getting on a boat would be a waste of precious time spent for training. What we are going to do is swim there." He noticed the wide-eyed and shocked expressions on both his son and Miki's faces. "This _**IS**_ a training trip boy, and everything can be considered training."

"Wha-- what about Miki?" It would be rather difficult for the small kitten to swim in all that water. Sure, the raven-haired boy had been trying to teach her martial arts, but the feline had a little difficulty with doing it. She could stand on her back legs for a few moments at least, but it was a tough job.

Genma made a small frown at that question. There were a few times when he wished he could just tell the boy to leave her behind, but Ranma was just so attached to the creature. There was also the odd fact that his son was teaching the thing martial arts. As odd as it sounded, the bespectacled man really wanted to see how well his son could do it. In fact, he even decided it would be a challenge that would prepare him for when he became a martial arts instructor of his own.

"Put her in your traveling pack. She'll be safe in there, and you'd be able to use both your arms to swim." Even if he did have the kitten try and swim there, some kind of creature would probably end up snatching her, and then he'd really get an earful from his son.

Ranma looked at his small companion with a little worry. "Will you be ok in the traveling pack, Miki?"

/It'll be dark and scary, but I'll be able to put up with it. Your father really can be an idiot sometimes./ She finished with a slight smile as her friend began to stick her in the pack.

"Sometimes I really think he is." The raven-haired boy agreed as he reluctantly put the pinkish creature safely into the pack by putting a few sheets around her. "Let me know if you are ever in trouble, Miki."

Finishing up the preparations, the cat-boy looked towards his father and gave a small nod that he was ready. The bespectacled man gave a thin smile and nod as he led his son to the Sea of Japan. Several people who were walking around the area watched in curiosity as two people jumped into the water and began to swim off into the distance. Many of them wondered if they were just crazy and wished to die. Another person -- a wrinkled old man -- had tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Now that's true martial artist training for ya!!" Everyone proceeded to stare at him with odd looks as they attempted to get away.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma struggled several times in his attempt to swim. He kept on wondering to himself many times just why they couldn't have taken a boat. He decided he wouldn't give up though, and that he'd try his best to show the older Saotome that he was capable of doing things like this. It was training, and it was saner than the idea of the Neko-ken.

There were a few times during their swim when they had actual run-ins with sharks. The creatures made the raven-haired boy nervous, but he also managed to scare them away with some claw swipes. There was a couple that he had to sadly kill though because they wouldn't give up. Oh well, they were mean and tried to eat them. He also tried to get them to go away without harming them too much.

The biggest shock of all had come just a few moments ago when the two were lifted up out of the water by a very large Blue Whale. This caused the young cat-boy to panic uncontrollably at being on the back of such a huge creature. Hell, he never even knew that such a creature even _**EXISTED**_. He knew about whales, but didn't know they would be so big. His shock turned into fascination when the small hole on the back of the creature expelled air and water.

They rode on the back of the whale for several moments before it submerged back into the water. This left Ranma wishing he could explore under the water. If that kind of creature was living under these waters, then think of all the interesting things there could be down there.

"Are we almost there yet, papa?" Ranma whined out with a pout. "My arms and legs are getting tired-nya." He wondered just how far China was from where they were. Looking off into the distance, he could see some kind of blur.

"Don't worry Ranma my boy." Genma grunted out. "If we're lucky, it'll only be a day before we get there at this pace." He heard his son let out a loud groan. "The life of a martial artist is fraught with peril, boy. Just think of this as intensive training to make your muscles stronger."

"Yes papa." The pony-tailed boy grumbled out. The water was cold, the waves were rough, his body ached badly, and it would possibly be another day. Could he really put up with it?

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Are-- we there-- yet-- papa?" The raven-haired boy panted out as he lay on his stomach on the surface of a sandy area that was just out of the water. His limbs refused to move, and it felt so nice just to lay there. Miki had already jumped out of his traveling pack and was worriedly licking him on the face. It was a good thing that they had actually come across a motor boat, and the people were nice enough to pick them up and bring them the rest of the way. It was then, as soon as they got off the boat, they fell on their faces exhausted.

"Well-- boy," Genma responded as he also panted, "if I'm right, we're in the Jillin province of China." He remembered the map he looked at before they started on their swim, and they did head in a straight line for the place. There was also the possibility that they could have slightly veered off course and ended in part of Russia or North Korea. Ah well, it didn't matter too much. "Now we just have to make it to the Qinghai province of China for the place I've heard about."

"And how long-- will that-- take, papa?" He hoped it wasn't any farther away than it was to swim here. He didn't even know how long it really took.

The older Saotome thought for a second as he lay there. "To my estimate, it will-- probably take about-- two weeks or so." He heard the small groan from his son. "Cheer up boy. It'll be worth the wait. I heard that-- Jusenkyou was a place that was good for training."

That caused Ranma to stop for a second. That was the same thing the bespectacled man said about climbing and training on Mount Fuji about five weeks ago. There was a supposed hidden temple of meditation up there that his father wanted to find. The result was the pony-tailed boy falling down the slope several times, cutting himself, and almost getting frost-bite. They also never found the blasted temple, and the man settled on having Ranma learn some meditative exercises at a place called the Hikawa Temple. The priestess-in-training there was quite a nice and beautiful girl.

"Papa," the boy began, "I'm sorry to say this, but you are still a jackass-nya."

"When I get the feeling in my arms, remind me to give you a wack upside the head for saying that to me." Genma answered back with a slight glare.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As the trio was moving through the Liaoning province a couple days later, Genma was approached by a large dark-haired man in shades. Of course, the guy originally tried to talk in Chinese. After finding out that the bandana clad Saotome only understood just a little in the way of the language and was a speaker of Japanese, he switched. "Say, you and your son are martial artists, right?" He asked as he looked down at the six-year-old.

The older Saotome felt a little suspicious of this guy, but decided to answer him. "Yeah, and why do you want to know?" There was something about the guy that he didn't like.

"Well, it's my son's 10th birthday, and he wanted to fight against the other martial artist children around the area. So who am I to argue with such an innocent request?" He flashed a large toothy smile towards the man. "I saw that your son was wearing a gi and wondered if you would like to have your son compete. That is, if you aren't busy at the moment."

A frown appeared on Genma's features. It would be a good chance for Ranma to test his skills, but they needed to hurry up and get to Jusenkyou. "I'm sorry, but I must refuse the offer. You see, there's a training area we really need to get to, and I want to get there as soon as possible." The father and son with cat proceeded to walk off.

"Oh, that's too bad. I was going to give a money prize to the people who could defeat my son." That caused Genma to halt in place and slowly turn his head to look at the shady individual.

"How much of a money prize are we talking about?" The dark-haired man gave a smile as he showed a slip of paper to the bespectacled martial artist. The older Saotome's eyes almost seemed to gain yen symbols as he looked at the amount. "Then again, I suppose this would be the perfect time to test out my son's martial arts ability." He gave a large smile to his son. "Don't you agree, boy?"

Ranma looked at his father for a second before nodding his head. He would really like to test his ability out against another person other than his father. "I think it will be really fun!"

The man in the shades gave a smirk. "Well then what are we waiting for?" He asked as he clapped his hands. Walking up to them, he proceeded to lead them towards the area that would be used for the birthday tournament of his son's. It wasn't long before they all came to a cement ring with several people standing around and getting drinks and snacks. The man who led them here then walked over to a boy of about 10-years-old. The boy had short red hair, dark eyes, and was tall and skinny.

As Ranma was motioned over to where the challengers were stationed, Genma couldn't help but notice that all the challengers seemed to be around the ages of six, seven, or eight. 'This fight is completely rigged.' The overweight man stated with a frown. 'The guy purposely sought out younger children for his son to fight.' A fixed fight like this was something he hated. He hoped that his son could beat some sense into the little snot. Then they could have the money and drop that guy down a few pegs.

"Well what do we have here?" The 10-year-old redhead asked as he stopped in his examination of the challengers. His eyes looked towards the pony-tailed cat-boy he held Miki. "I thought none of the challengers could get anymore immature, but here I see a little boy with his kitten." Reaching over, he gave a small flick to Ranma's nose. "Such a widdle baby in need of a kitten to cuddle." He stepped back when the young Saotome hissed, and that hiss caused his cat-ears to pop out and his tail to straighten.

"Do not think I'm weak because I'm younger." The pony-tailed boy growled out with eyes narrowed. His expression then turned cheerful. "I want to show papa how good I've gotten." In his arms, the kitten gave a small glare towards the redhead.

"Oh, you're still using the term papa? Wow, you must really be immature and weak. Those cat things also make you a freak as well." Sticking his tongue out, the older boy danced up to the ring while singing 'cat freak, cat freak, you're just a cat freak'.

Ranma's eyes became hard as he watched the boy move away while singing. 'I'll show you what I can do. Ranma Saotome will not lose to you.' He thought with a small nod as the mini-tournament began. He would show that boy to not underestimate an opponent, even if that opponent was younger and smaller.

It came to the young Saotome's attention that the little 'tournament' was completely lame. Because of all the opponents being six, seven, and eight-years-old, the 10-year-old and taller boy with more experience -- his name was revealed to be Shusei -- seemed to be decimating them all as soon as they could enter the arena. The first opponent had been a short boy who started the match by running up to Shusei to throw a punch. The taller boy merely stepped out of the way, knocked the boy down, and sat on him. The younger then walked away crying.

The next opponent had been a short and somewhat chubby boy who was determined to win. Needless to say, the 10-year-old taunted the boy a little about his weight, poked him in the stomach, and pushed him out of the ring before he could get over the name calling and do anything. The redheaded boy then had the nerve to say that the kid would never become a martial artist with that shape, and that caused the younger to also cry a bit.

This went on with every opponent that had stepped into the ring, and both Ranma and Miki actually wondered if there was something wrong with this whole picture. A 10-year-old fighting against kids who were mostly six and seven with a few eights seemed really unfair. It also really started to anger the pony-tailed boy that Shusei wasn't taking martial arts seriously, and seemed to use it to taunt and tease younger kids.

Finally after 10 more unfair matches, it was time for Ranma's turn to have a go against the taller boy. Setting Miki down with his father, the blue-eyed boy walked over and stepped into the ring. His eyes were hard and full of determination as he looked at the boy who used martial arts in all the wrong ways. "Well if it isn't the immature and weak-looking cat freak. It looks like you're the last opponent. All the others seemed to have quit and went to cry to their mommies."

"Don't think it'll be easy to defeat me." The raven-haired boy stated simply as he got into a ready stance. "You are nothing but a bully, and I'll show you what a true martial artist is capable of-nya."

Shusei let off a laugh as he waved the boy off and got into a stance of his own. This would be a piece of cake to do. After this, all the kids wouldn't be able to say no to him without having a bit of fear in them. It was so close that he could almost taste it, and he'd also put this cat-freak in his place.

At the small starting signal, both combatants ran towards each other. The redhead sent forward a high punch that he hoped would connect to the smaller boy's head. To his disappointment, the cat-boy dodged to the side a little and sent a kick for his stomach. The kick connected and sent the 10-year-old onto his back. "I told you I'd show you what a true martial artist can do-nya."

"Oh shut up, freak." The older boy stated as he stood up and sent a kick towards his opponent. Ranma dodged again and grabbed the extended leg. The pony-tailed boy sent a palm strike forward that hit Shusei in the chest and knocked him onto his back again. The younger boy's blue eyes watched as the dark-eyed boy got up again with a growl. "Ok, I'll admit that you have some skill."

A smile escaped the young Saotome at the compliment. This was actually starting to turn out to be fun. Blocking a punch that was heading his way, the cat-boy proceeded to do a leg sweep that sent his opponent onto his back for the third time. It was at that moment as he started to stand up that his whole body seemed to feel an intense pain. Turning his head, he saw that his downed opponent had grabbed hold of his tail. There was also a look in the older boy's eyes that he didn't like.

"Oh, I'm sorry, does it hurt when somebody squeezes this stupid thing." With a kind of manic grin, Shusei brought the tail close and gave a sharp bite to it. The pain that traveled up Ranma's body was then enough to send him to his knees with his face hidden behind his arms as tears almost threatened to flow out of his eyes. "My, my, my, such a weakness it seems." The redhead stated as he stood up and continued to put an iron grip on the appendage.

The raven-haired boy couldn't believe just how painful it was. He knew that it didn't feel good when someone grabbed the thing and gave a small pull, but to have it being crushed and bitten was something he hadn't experienced. As he lay there on his arms and knees with tears coming out of his eyes as the older boy kept squeezing and taunting him, he could hear his father yelling for him to get back up and fight. A true martial artist should be able to overcome any weakness. 'But it's so painful!'

His opponent gave a laugh as he continued to squeeze and pull the raven-furred tail. "If I were you, cat-freak, I'd give up right now. I won't let go of this tail until you agree to qui--" Shusei's expression turned from pleasure to complete and utter pain in an instant. Apparently the younger boy found the strength to shoot his foot backwards, and that motion had hit the redhead in a certain spot. Letting go of the captured tail, the 10-year-old fell forward and tried to get over the pain he was feeling.

Ranma, on the other hand, managed to sit up and massage his tail. After the pain subsided, he wrapped it around his waist and looked in the older boy's direction with an expression of anger. "You are not a martial artist. A martial artist wouldn't use someone's weakness against them." Flexing his claws, he ran up to the boy and began to reign down scratches that managed to cut the redhead's clothing. There were several scratches upon his body, but the destruction of his clothes was the biggest factor. With a final kick, the azure-eyed boy sent the older one flying out of the ring and onto the ground.

It was an odd match, but many people considered it entertaining none-the-less. Ranma was announced the winner, and Shusei's father reluctantly handed Genma the money that was agreed upon. The younger Saotome happily jumped around like a hyper chipmunk at the win that he had managed to obtain.

Eyes glaring at the aforementioned Saotome as he lay on the ground, Shusei growled and mulled over his loss to such a little freak. 'I'm not going to forget this, cat-freak. I'll get you back someday. Just you wait. When you least suspect it, I'll be there to flatten your ass to the ground.' The boy then proceeded to laugh, but his laughing was cut short when a few of the younger boys that he taunted and teased earlier had ran up to him and started to punch and kick him. "STOP IT!"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Genma had become excited about his son's victory. Even though that Shusei boy seemed like a complete amateur, it was still a great win for his son. There was, however, the problem with the boy's tail that could really cause difficulties in a fight. It was hard to believe how something like that could cause so much pain if it was squeezed or pulled. The solution he had to remedy the problem was simple. Toughen the tail up on their way to Jusenkyou.

Both Ranma and Miki gulped when the overweight martial artist described what they were going to do. Every day until they get to Jusenkyou, they would work on the tail. Bringing out a small rope, the bespectacled man tied it tightly around his son's tail. The pressure and tightness of the rope almost made the raven-haired boy fall to his knees in tears. It also didn't help that the man would occasionally pull hard on it either. There had also been the frequent squeezing as well. Miki could sympathize greatly with what her friend had to go through, but she was also glad it wasn't her who was going through it.

The young Saotome didn't really know how to explain it, but it was like his whole body would feel like it was stabbed with hundreds of tiny needles whenever his tail was abused. It was hard to believe how he never noticed how painful it could be before, and he couldn't believe his father was putting him through this. The whole speech about weakness, downfall, and all that stuff did make a lot of sense though. Maybe this was all for the better.

Gradually, as the time went by, the pain from the tail felt less and less. Ranma didn't understand how that could happen, but Genma stated that when one gets used to the pain, the impact of it all could lessen. He even went on to mention how when Ranma was three, he couldn't take a hit very well, but now he could take quite a few. The punches he received were still painful, but they weren't as potent as they used to be.

It actually made sense, and the pony-tailed boy was really glad that his father was so knowledgeable when it came to martial arts. He couldn't really think of what it would be like if he didn't have his father's guidance in the art. The man's sense of right and wrong weren't as good as his skill in the art, but he was still the boy's father who was teaching him how to do things.

Even more gradually, his tail also seemed to strengthen from all the things that his father did to it. It still hurt if somebody pulled and squeezed on it, but not as much as it had done several days ago. He could even pick up a few small things such as a stick and anything that wasn't too heavy. The whole thought of it all was exciting, and even Genma had hopes of him being able to use it like an extra limb. The overweight man was still patting himself on the back for having his son go through the Neko-ken training as if it had been the greatest accomplishment.

It was the next day in which the trio finally arrived at the Bayankala Mountain Range in the Qinghai province. It had been almost two weeks since they had started their trek in across China, and most of that time -- when not spent on meals and sleeping -- was spent on training and something Genma liked to call 'tail practice'. Ranma and Miki actually preferred to call it 'tail torture'.

As they stood on the cliff overlooking the springs and bamboo poles, the young cat-boy felt a faint tingle of some sort that he decided to put out of his mind. "Wow, this place looks so cool-nya." It didn't look all that dangerous at all. At least not like that Mt. Fuji experience that he would like nothing more than to forget.

Genma gave a motion with his hand. "Come on boy, let's get going. We have to make it down this path first." Giving a vigorous nod, the pony-tailed Saotome fallowed his balding father down the dirt path towards their destination. It took about 25 minutes, but they managed to finally arrive at the entrance to Jusenkyou. The very moment they stepped into the area of the springs, Ranma and Miki instantly stiffened.

/This place doesn't feel right./ The kitten stated as she shivered. There was something in the air that just didn't seem to agree with her senses. /I don't think I like this place./

Ranma didn't know why, but it almost felt like there was a bunch of really potent magic and energy around the area. He didn't know why he was thinking about magic either. His feline senses were also going into complete overdrive as he looked around the place. "Papa, this place doesn't seem right at all." He didn't want to be here, and it felt like something was going to happen.

"Nonsense, that's just your nerves talking at seeing this place. Now come on boy." A frown appeared on the large man when he saw his son stubbornly shake his head. Looking at the kitten in his son's arms, he got an idea. A smile came as he plucked Miki out of the boy's arms and ran towards the springs. With a large leap, he landed on the top of one of the bamboo poles.

"Miki!! Papa, put her down!" The young boy shouted in a mixture of anger and fear as he rushed towards the springs. Neither of the people heard the warning shout from a large man dressed in a green uniform, even though he yelled at the top of his lungs for them to not get any closer to the place.

Slightly unsure of himself, Ranma attempted to make a leap up onto one of the shorter bamboo poles. Managing to clumsily land on it, he used his tail to help him balance so he wouldn't fall. The young Saotome then proceeded to give clumsy leap onto another pole. Pretty soon he was clumsily leaping from pole to pole while using his tail as a balance. Genma smiled at this as he held the small kitten that was mewing in fright. The bespectacled man jumped across poles and led his son around so the boy could get a better hang at balance and jumping.

A small problem with it all occurred when Genma landed on a weakened bamboo pole. The pole snapped and sent him falling towards a spring. As he fell, he accidentally flung his arm and sent Miki flying towards a different spring. Fear fully gripping at Ranma, the cat-boy leapt from his perch and managed to grab his feline friend as they hit the water with a large splash. The Jusenkyou guide gave a sigh at two people and a cat being cursed today. He decided to start the explanations by walking over to the father who was just now coming out of the spring.

For Ranma and Miki, it was a few moments of odd tingling through their bodies that they felt until the young Saotome managed to get back to the surface of the water and get some fresh air. "Are you ok Miki?" The six-year-old asked in worry. It was then that he noticed a few things that seemed odd. One thing was that 'his' voice seemed a little higher than usual. The other thing was that what he was holding in 'his' arms were actually a naked girl of about 'his' own age of six with waist-length pink hair with a few black highlights and vivid blue eyes. Ranma's six-year-old mind attempted to put two and two together on this. The girl had pink hair/black highlights and vivid blue eyes, and Miki had pinkish fur with some black markings and vivid blue eyes. "M-- Miki, is that you?"

"Rrranma?" The girl asked in confusion before she put a paw -- no, hand -- to her mouth. She had just spoken in human talk. "It-- it I, but that youuu? Youuu-- look like yyyou, but-- have rrred hair-- rrred fur on ears." The cat turned girl then gave a small sniff. "From senses tell, yyyou girl-nya." It was really hard to speak with these vocal cords.

The boy turned girl gave a tilt to her head at trying to understand her friend. "Really?" At her friend's nod, she reached down her gi and noticed something was missing. "I guess I am." The redhead stated with a blink. "Boy, is this weird or what?" It was a really freaky thing, but it didn't seem all that much different from usual.

"Oh I'm sorry," the man in green from earlier started, "you two fall into spring of drowned girl. Legend say that a girl fall into spring and drown 1500 year ago. Now whoever fall into spring take form of young girl." The guy also pointed to a panda that was not too far from them. "Your father also fell into spring of drowned panda." The guide wondered what the reactions of the two in front of him would be. The large man seemed to slightly panic when he found out, but once he learned that hot water would reverse it, he calmed down.

Ranma and Miki took a look towards the panda, looked at each other, then looked back to the panda. Then at once, they both said the first thing that came to their minds. "It really suits him." The idea of him turning into anything else wouldn't have made sense at this point. The two decided that it would be best if they got out of the water before they started to really get cold.

Letting go of the now humanized and nude pink-haired girl, the two girls climbed out of the spring. As soon as Miki climbed out, she nearly fell onto her face. Thankfully, Ranma was able to catch her hand help her up. "It looks like it's my turn to help you learn to walk, Miki." The redhead stated with a small giggle. Her friend gave a grumble and blush as she used the cat-girl for support. They had to be really careful not to fall into any other springs and possibly turn into something even worse. "Too bad you couldn't keep your cat-ears and tail though-nya." The young Saotome stated with a slight pout.

"I knows," the young pink-haired girl stated with a slight frown. It was so weird to be able to actually talk like a human, but it was so neat as well. This also meant she had hands and could walk on two legs. She could now do so many things she wished she could do just moments ago. With a joyous shriek, she grabbed her friend in a tight hug and accidentally knocked her to the ground. "This cool, Rrranma-nya!!" She yelled as she nuzzled her friend.

The pony-tailed redhead couldn't help but laugh as her friend attempted to nuzzle her to death in happiness. "Can we please get a little farther from the springs though, Miki?" The kitten turned human child gave a nod as she bolted to the human legs she now had. Ranma got to her own feet and grabbed the other transformed person by the hand. "Come on, let's go."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"And so you see, hot water turns you back into normal forms." The guide stated as he poured the contents of the kettle onto each of the three individuals. Before Genma could give a whoop of joy, the guide continued on with a bucket in hand. "And cold water will turn you back into your cursed forms." He proceeded to dump the cold water over the three. Genma acted like it was a complete travesty, Ranma didn't really know what to think, and Miki was overjoyed behind all reason.

The seemingly six-year-old pink-haired girl pounced on her friend again. "Just think-- all huuuman things-- cannn dooo, Rrranma-nya!" She was so glad she met the young Saotome all those weeks ago. Lifting her head up, she gave a small happy lick to her friend's cheek.

//HUMANS SHOULD NOT DO THAT!// A sudden sign in Genma-panda's hand announced. Where he got the signs, nobody knew. //Especially a young girl to another girl.// There was another flip to the sign. //Wait, my son shouldn't be a girl!!//

"Cool sign trick, papa." Ranma stated with big eyes before she shook her head. "Miki's still a cat at heart. There's nothing wrong with her wanting to lick someone's cheek." Was there really something wrong with it? "What's wrong with me being a girl anyway? Sure it's not what I really am, but I now turn into it. I see nothing wrong."

The panda pulled out another sign from who knows where. //She's still a human now, and it's weird for a human to do that.// There was a flip to the sign. //Can you please get her into some damn clothes?// The sign was then turned around again, and somehow had new text on it. //You are naturally a boy, that's why. You are not some weak girl.//

"Ucchan wasn't weak, and I don't feel any weaker." The redhead simply stated before she took a look at Miki. "Why does she need clothes? She's human right now, but she's still a cat, and she looks cute right now as well-nya." Was the young Saotome really missing the big picture in it all?

The pink-haired girl stood up clumsily and put her hands on her hips. "That rrright, I still cat. Look cute nnno clothes-nya!" The sight of a girl of around six who was standing around completely naked caused the pandafied Genma and Jusenkyou Guide to avert their eyes with a blush. "Ok, fine. Put clothes onnn." Walking clumsily over to the traveling packs, she began to root though them until she found another gi of Ranma's. Putting it on, she found that it was the right size. Taking a small step, the cat turned human fell flat onto her face.

"I need to help you with that, Miki." The cat-girl stated as she walked up and helped her friend to her feet. "It's just like you told me a few weeks ago, put one foot in front of the other. You don't have a tail to balance you though, so try and use your body weight… or something." The redhead didn't really understand the mechanics of how to do it, so she just gave a guess.

Concentrating hard, Miki attempted to take a few steps and found herself actually succeeding in doing it. With a little more effort, she found that she was able to walk even faster. After several moments of this, she looked towards her friend with big eyes. "I do it-- Rrranma-nya!" With an incredible pounce, the pink-haired girl jumped into the redhead and knocked her down. She then proceeded to lick her friend on the face again.

"Stop it, Miki. That's starting to tickle-nya!" Ranma shouted as she began to laugh as her friend hung onto her. It was a weird experience, but the girl was still a kitten -- and close friend -- in the young Saotome's mind. This might also make it easier to teach the girl martial arts.

//Coming here was a mistake!// The large panda signed as tears streamed down his furry cheeks. //My son now turns into a weak girl.// A large frown made its way onto both of the children's faces as they read the sigh.

"Rrranma/I'm not weak!" Both shouted with a twin glare at the same time towards the older Saotome. After the outburst, both looked at each other and began to laugh again at saying it at the same time. Genma, on the other hand, gave a large sigh at the thought of yet another child on his hands. Why did this all have to get so complicated?

To their delight, the Jusenkyou Guide had actually offered to make dinner for them. It was getting late at night, and the large man in green didn't think it would be a good idea for the three to venture out while it was getting dark at Jusenkyou. The decision was also reached due to the large misty fog that seemed to be settling in over the area. Any wrong step during that, and they could become even more cursed than they already were.

The soup the guide made was actually pretty good, and Ranma had to help show Miki how to properly use a spoon instead of using her mouth. The new human had trouble holding the utensil in her currently clumsy hand. As this was going on, Genma decided to try and sneak a few spoons from his son turned daughter's bowl. He didn't get too far before the aforementioned child gave a claw swipe to his hand. The man gave a pandafied pout and went back to eating his own.

As she started to get the hang of using something in her hands, the pink-haired girl became even more elated. "If otherrr cats see nowww-nya." She announced with a giggle as she finished her food. Standing up, she decided to walk around some more to get the hang of it. As she moved around, she also ended up picking up various things in her new hands. It was an incredible experience to the neo-human girl as she picked up chairs, knick-knacks, pans, and many other things. After several moments of this, she stopped with a bright smile on her face before she turned around and leapt for her friend again. "Thank much, Rrranma. If no met youuu, I norrrmal cat!" She then proceeded to curl up on her friend's lap.

Another childish giggle escaped out of the redhead as she proceeded to pet her friend's long hair. "I might have gone crazy with everything if you weren't there to help." Of course, only the two neo-girls and a certain girl in Japan knew the exact meaning of the sentence, and it would remain their secret. Through the whole interaction, Genma kept bemoaning the fates.

It wasn't too much longer until it was time to turn in for the night. The guide pulled out a couple guest futons that he stored in his cabin for whenever Jusenkyou victims had to stay the night. He only had two, but the solution was solved when Ranma and Miki proclaimed that they could both sleep on the same futon. Genma attempted to protest this, but when asked if he would rather go without one, he changed his mind.

As the two children climbed into the futon, the guide sweat-dropped and mentioned how the scene was just too cute to watch, and how the two could probably give even a monster a few cavities with it all. The older Saotome merely grumbled, since he had heard it all many times before from all the people they had met. It was slightly more true now that the boy was a girl, and that the kitten turned girl was also hanging around. Martial artists weren't supposed to be cute, damn it!! Many annoyed thoughts ran through his head as he turned onto his side and began to fall asleep.

Lying within the comfortable blanket of the futon and sleeping soundly were the two newly cursed neo-girls. Their bodies were still, and their breathing seemed to be in sync as they faced each other. If Genma or the Jusenkyou Guide had been watching, they would have seen a small and soft glow shine around the chest area of the two as they slept.

xxA.Nxx

For those who don't know: Masaru Hananakajima and the Sexy Commando school club he runs are from a lesser known series known as Sexy Commando Gaiden: Sugoiyo! Masaru-san. The series is quite a strange one.

And Jusenkyou has finally made its appearance on the scene. Hmm… a small glow softly shining around the two. The glow between the two means a few things, and I will enlighten you all on what.

_**One:**_ The glow merely put the two's aging in sync. This means that Miki won't age at normal cat speed and grow up too fast and all before Ranma.

_**Two:**_ The glow made a slight connection with the Star Seeds and changed Miki's structure to that of a Mau.

_**Three: **_The change to Mau for Miki will be a more gradual thing than it was for Ranma. It's to give her curse and normal form enough time to sync-up with each other.

Alright, time for a few Senshi attacks that Ranma would have in female Senshi form.

_**Yowl of the Hunt**___ A loud cat screech used to momentarily stun an opponent and possibly leave their ears ringing.

_**Cat's Eye Ambush:**_ It's a skill that can only be used most effectively at night, and works best when the moon is full. The opponent's vision is suddenly filled with darkness, and all around the opponent would be hundreds of cats' eyes and echoing cat noises.

_**Kitty Cat Cute Attack:**_ The skill is more of a 'what the hell' technique for Ranma. The skill plays on the cuteness of Ranma's cat-girl form and magically magnifies it by 10.


	5. A Rivalry With A Hair Product?

A Surviving Mau

Ranma ½, Sailor Moon, and any other series used in this fanfic are owned by their respectful owners. I do not own anything about them at all.

Thanks to CyberSkaarj and people at Fukufics for pre-reading and helping with errors.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

/cat talk/

//Signs//

///Chinese///

Chapter 5

The Jusenkyou Guide woke up early the next morning to the sounds of people outside of his cabin. Sitting up in his bed, he began an attempt to work the sleep out of his eyes. With that finished, he proceeded to slide out of his bed and look around. He noticed that the three people who came yesterday weren't there, but their items still were. This meant that the noise he had heard was coming from them. Grumbling a little about noisy guests, he made his way out of his home and glanced around for any sign of the cursed victims.

When he spotted the three, he had to blink and rub his eyes for a second to see if what was in front of him was real. Checking again, he noted that it was indeed happening. At the closest tree to the portly man's cabin were the customers to the springs. The father was currently in human form with his arms crossed. The kitten was in her human form, but she was tied with a rope so she couldn't move. The last of the three was the son who was currently in boy form. The six-year-old was hanging from the tree by his wrists via a rope, and he seemed to be in pain. Upon further inspection, the guide discovered that the pain was due to a weight tied to the end of the young boy's tail, and he guessed it weighed possibly 15lbs or so. There were also several other weights of various sizes on the ground next to them.

"Use the muscles in your tail to pull the weight up, boy! Why do you insist on acting like such a baby bout this?" Apparently the father was trying to strengthen the child's tail by putting it through a rigorous test, and it must _**REALLY**_ have been painful to have that much weight tied to an appendage like that.

"How would you like if you had tail and weight tied to yours?!" Miki shouted in utter annoyance. She had found that when she woke up this morning, her ability to talk seemed to have gotten a little better. "You probably yell head off if you in same position."

Genma glanced in her direction. "No pain is too great to prevent one from bettering themselves, girl." Maybe he should have turned the pink-haired child back into a cat before doing this. Then he wouldn't have to listen to her mouth. "If you're really serious about doing martial arts," he slightly scoffed at the idea of Miki being able to do it, "then you have to put up with pain."

"I'm trying, but the weight is too heavy!" Ranma shouted as he pulled his tail up, lowered it, and repeated as best he could. At least his father hadn't put fire under him like three days ago. 'He gets too carried away with this stuff.' The pony-tailed boy thought to himself with a frown as he struggled to pull his tail up some more.

"We shall do this until we Growf!" A small sudden rain shower had chose that moment to turn the older Saotome into his panda form. The same shower took the time to transform the hanging cat-boy into a hanging cat-girl.

Said hanging child gave off a small sigh. 'Saved from listening to him by the rain. Now how do I get down from here?' Looking around for a solution to her problem, the redhead noted that Miki had somehow wiggled out of the ropes that had bound her and was creeping slowly towards the large panda. With a quick motion, the young girl had managed to land a kick to the man turned panda's back that sent him headfirst into the tree. This effectively knocked Genma unconscious. "Thanks Miki. Now, could you please untie me?"

"Be right there, Ranma." The now freed blue-eyed former cat stated as she walked up to the tree and began to climb it. Making her way to the branch her friend was tied to, she crawled onto it and began untying one of the ropes. As soon as one of Ranma's hands was free, the young Saotome used a finger to cut the rope that trapped her other hand. The boy turned girl then fell to the ground onto her feet and began to take the weight off her tail.

"Papa really needs to learn when to quit." The redhead grumbled to herself as she removed the weight and looked towards her father. She then turned her head and watched as Miki jumped out of the tree and landed next to her. "You're getting better with moving on two legs, Miki-nya."

"Thanks Ranma." The pink-haired girl stated back with a smile as they proceeded back to the Jusenkyou Guide's cabin. "I noticed some weird things since waking up." Her companion looked at her questioningly. "For some reason, my head," she put her hands on the opposite sides of the top of her had, "and just above my butt," this time her hand went to the area, "feel warm for some reason. I don't really know what it means-nya."

Ranma tilted her head to try and figure it out. "I don't know." She finally said after not being able to figure anything out. Her blue eyes suddenly began to widen. "Could it mean you're getting ears and a tail?" When she thought about the areas, she noticed they were spots were her own ears and tail were.

"But I'm currently human. I still have some cat-like senses and movement, but I'm still human right now." It really would be nice if she could have ears and a tail in this form. "Oh wait, then your father might want to train _**MY**_ tail-nya!" The cat turned child announced with fearful eyes. "There needs to be a better way, Ranma."

The young Saotome tilted her head again for a moment. "Maybe there is a way somewhere." She didn't know what could be a better way, but she was sure it didn't have to involve all the pain she had to put her tail through. "Come on; let's get out of this rain before it gets heavy."

"What about your father?" Should they just leave him there lying face-down on the ground?

Two pairs of blue eyes looked towards the direction of where the man turned panda lay. Ranma thought for a brief moment before waving her hand. "I'm sure he'll wake up soon. Just let him sleep." The two children laughed as they followed the Jusenkyou guide back into his cabin.

As the two neo-girls made themselves comfortable, the portly man prepared to make some tea to enjoy. The September morning seemed to have become a little on the cool side, and a little hot tea would be a good thing to enjoy for the occasion. It was at that moment they heard a knock at the front door. The Guide was curious as to who it was at this early time and went to see if it was another customer.

Upon opening the door, he took one glance outside and immediately brightened at seeing who the person was. ///Che Ri, I'm so glad to see you! Come on in and make yourself comfy./// He moved out of the way and allowed the visitor to enter his small home. Both Ranma and Miki glanced to see who it was and were quite amazed at seeing a beautiful woman in her mid to late 20's with long dark hair and red eyes. ///How was your visit to the hospital to see why you were feeling so ill?///

The woman gave a kind smile to the large man. ///It went well, husband./// She gave a wry smile. ///Am I to guess that the panda passed out near the tree out there, and the two young girls sitting here in your cabin are cursed spring victims?/// At the man in green's nod, she gave a small shake to her head. ///They never seem to listen.///

///What did the doctors say about your current illness, Che Ri?/// The man of the springs asked in slight worry. His wife had seemed to have gotten ill all of a sudden, and he was the one who had suggested she go to the hospital in the nearest town.

The dark-haired woman gave another smile and laid a hand on her stomach. ///It seems as if we could be expecting a little one soon, dear./// She was shocked when her husband picked her up and started twirling around before grabbing her in a large hug.

This action caused the two neo-girls to look at each other in confusion. "What's going on?" They asked in unison. They didn't understand a word of Chinese, and they were curious as to why the guide had suddenly become so happy and had begun twirling the woman around like that.

Hearing the two ask the question in Japanese, the woman cast a smile their way. "My husband is just excited because we are going to have a baby." She grew a little contemplative. "Oh I do hope it will be a girl. I think Plum would be a good name for her."

Ranma looked towards her cat turned human friend. "Where do babies come from, Miki?" She had actually wondered that, but never bothered to ask.

Miki's blue eyes blinked for a second before she began to scratch the back of her head. "Sorry Ranma, but I have no clue myself." It was an interesting thing to try and figure out. Genma-panda chose that moment to walk through the door of the cabin with his fur dripping wet. The two children looked at each other and shrugged. "Hey panda-man, we want to know something."

"Yeah Papa, we want to know where babies come from." Surely her pandafied father could provide them with the answer to their question. "The Guide's wife is going to have a baby, and we want to know where they come from-nya."

The older Saotome sweat-dropped at the double onslaught and raised a sign. He didn't want to have to explain the stuff to children, and he didn't want to explain the inevitable 'birds and bees'. //I'll tell you when you're older. You don't need to know right now.// The answer was quick and should have left no room for anything else.

"Oh come on, Papa. We want to know. Can you please let us know?" The redheaded cat-girl whined out in an attempt to get her father to open up about it and answer her. "Pretty please?" She asked again while bringing out the dreaded 'puppy-dog attack'. This had been doubled in intensity due to her pink-haired companion doing the same thing.

The panda made a wince at seeing the double attack, but he miraculously managed to hold his ground. //For the last time, no!// The glaring panda watched as the two children crossed their arms and pouted. //It is not something little children should know.// He didn't care that the two had become disappointed over it.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Genma had to put up with a little more begging from the two until he finally got fed up and poured hot water over Miki and turned her back into a normal cat. This of course caused Ranma to get angry at him, hop up onto his shoulders, and then beat him upside his pandafied head with her small fists. After about a minute of this, he finally got fed up again and re-activated the young kitten's curse. This made the young redhead happy as the two cursed children proceeded to play a few games of rock, paper, and scissors.

Relief came when the rain outside stopped and the guide -- along with his wife -- decided to show them around the area a little. This would mostly involve visits to the Amazon villages of Joketsuzoku and Yaokaicun. The closest village of them all happened to be the former, and that was where they would be headed first. Che Ri went on to mention that the Joketsuzoku had a more warrior-centric population that could possibly teach the two children a few things. The elders may have had some problem with teaching outsiders, but they had a soft spot for children who showed great interest and potential in martial arts.

Yaokaicun, on the other hand, didn't have as many warriors, and the village was most famous for its herbalists who could whip up poisons, potions, and antidotes like pros. Genma scoffed at the thought of people relying on such a useless trade and mentioned that the Joketsuzoku had to be the better village. Ranma and Miki, on the other hand, listened and absorbed it all with interest. Both places sounded enjoyable, but the young Saotome couldn't wait to meet these people who could teach martial arts.

They had all walked for about 25 minutes when the Guide mentioned that they were getting closer to their destination. The two younger members of the group were more interested in the wildlife they saw while on the trek. An example being the boar and its children they had seen a few minutes ago. They had started laughing when the pandafied Saotome had somehow accidentally angered the parent and caused it to chase him around. It ended with Genma getting pierced on his bottom by the creature's tusks. Ranma and Miki could almost have sworn that the swine had laughed after it did it.

It had stalled the journey a little, but they were back on foot with the older Saotome rubbing his butt while giving a final glare to the boar. After about five more minutes, the group finally saw the tops of building structures in the distance. That meant it would be a smooth walk from here on out, or so they thought.

"What's that noise?" The young redhead asked as her ears twitched to the sound of screaming and yelling. Next to her, the pink-haired neo-child was straining her ears to listen. She couldn't hear as well as her friend, but she still had cat-like senses. The three older people looked at them in confusion before the cat-girl pointed ahead at something that they could all see. "There's something attacking that village, and it's holding onto something." Ranma ran up a little for a closer look. "I can't see very well, but it looks like a kid." She didn't know what was going on, but something told her it wasn't good.

Miki watched her friend and had noticed what she was about to do. Her blue eyes glanced back at the three older people before returning to the cat-girl. "Ranma, you aren't thinking of--" The cat turned human didn't get to finish before the redhead took off in a sprint.

"Mau Planet Power, Make-up!" The six-year-old never thought to question why the ending of the phrase changed from 'henshin' to 'make-up' as tendrils of light and a flash enveloped her running form. If she had paid attention, she would have seen that her outfit had changed from what she usually wore as the Senshi of Mau.

The body-suit was one of the bigger differences. The bottom of the black suit changed from leggings to a skirt that ended just a little above her knees, and the golden vest had changed into a red bow with a golden bell in the center. The normal golden belt had also changed into a red belt, and the top of the body-suit had become sleeve-less.

The cat-gloves had changed from wrist-length to shoulder-length, and the cat-boots had also changed from ankle-length to knee-length. Her red cat-tail had gained a black bow with a golden bell in the center like the one on her chest, and the red pony-tail on the back of her head had gained a black bow as well. The only things that had remained the same were the silver circlet with a golden sunburst on her forehead, the silver earring with bell on her left cat-ear, and the silver choker with golden bell around her neck.

All these changes had gone un-noticed by the Senshi of Mau as she continued to race towards the village, although she did notice an odd boost in magic. There was also the knowledge of a couple more attacks that she had never even heard of when she had last transformed. It seemed weird for some reason, but she had to put it out of her mind as she continued on.

As the cat-girl got closer, she could see that whatever it was that had been causing a ruckus was about ten feet tall, a series of small spikes on its back and shoulders, large claws, and it seemed as if it lacked a mouth. No, correction, it had a mouth, but it was… on its stomach? That was definitely an odd thing to behold. Her attention, however, was focused on the kid it was holding in an outstretched clawed hand with another hand about ready to break the kid's arm. Ranma could tell that the child was a boy of about her age, and he had long black hair, white robes, and very thick glasses. Around the two were a group of women who wanted to act, but didn't want the child's arm to be ripped out or crushed.

'Looks like I'm going to be fighting a large monster.' The Senshi thought with a slight bit of apprehension. The sight of the creature had almost made her pause in fright, but the fact that there was someone in need fueled her with enough confidence. Pushing some energy into her legs, she took off in a leap to make her move.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx _**(A few moments earlier)**_

Mu Tzu was sitting on a small rock with a sigh. Just a few moments ago he had attempted to show his affection for the love of his life again. It seemed that no matter what he did, the girl who he had known since they were toddlers always rejected him. Many times she had claimed that he was weak, and that his handicap was a true nuisance and danger to anyone around him. 'Someday I'll show her that I'm not weak, and someday she will return my love.' Not even training in his family's school of Hidden Weapons seemed to help in his quest for her. He just couldn't bring himself to scratch her at least a little.

He gave a small sigh as he thought about his purple-haired mini-goddess. In his mind, she was strong, smart, brave, honorable, and so many other things that he couldn't think of at the moment. If he could, he would move heaven and earth to save her if she ever got into trouble, and he was sure she'd do the same. 'An Amazon does not turn their back on their fellow Amazons.' He thought to himself. It was an ideal drilled into their heads since infancy. Even if the Amazon in trouble was an 'inferior male', they were still part of the village and should be helped if they truly needed it.

Xian Pu always seemed reluctant at times to help him, but would always come through in the end. They may not have always seen eye-to-eye, but they had been inseparable friends. That had seemed to fall apart a little when he had started trying to defeat her for her hand in marriage, but he just couldn't help it. The girl seemed to have all the qualities that made her special, and he'd do anything for her. He'd even take on a large and menacing monster if it had taken her hostage.

A loud roar and shouting interrupted his thoughts. Looking around, he wondered what the commotion was all about. He could hear people shouting something about 'a monster', 'attacking', and 'a foolish girl'. The myopic child had also made out the name of the girl in trouble. 'XIAN PU!' He shouted in his mind as he took off towards the area where the warriors were running. Everyone was too pre-occupied to even notice him heading towards the danger.

When he had finally got to the area, his eyes widened in horror at the sight of a large and menacing monster holding the girl of his dreams hostage in a large and clawed hand. She looked terrified as the creature smiled ON ITS STOMACH at her and revealed rows of sharp, crimson teeth. Mu Tzu felt his legs go numb as he looked onto the scene, but seeing Xian Pu held hostage like that caused his eyes to narrow. ///Let Xian Pu go you freakish thing!/// He shouted as he decided to see how much of his training had prepared him for this sort of situation. Giving a small leap, he shot his sleeve forward and sent a dagger flying for the vile fiend.

The dagger hit the thing in the shoulder and caused it to give a small roar in pain and drop its purple-haired captive. The raven-haired child leapt forward and caught the young girl before she hit the ground. ///Xian Pu, are you alright?/// He asked as his eyes -- hidden by his glasses -- looked on with fear.

///Of course I am. I'm an Amazon, Mu Tzu./// The six-year-old girl stated with a small bit of annoyance. How could she have been so foolish as to be captured, and how could she have been rescued by him of all people. The annoyance turned into shock when said boy was suddenly picked up by the monster that had held her just a moment ago. ///Mu Tzu!/// She shouted in her own fear.

///Xian Pu, help!/// The long-haired boy shouted as one of his arms was suddenly grabbed in an almost bone-crushing hold. The tongue on the creature's stomach-mouth licked its 'lips'. The young Amazon boy watched as the girl he cherished to an almost obsession seemed to almost stand there with her entire body frozen. 'What's wrong, Xian Pu? I tried to help you even though I knew I couldn't stand a chance.'

His heart nearly stopped when he watched her start to shiver, back up a few feet, turn around, and then run off. 'Sh-- she left me. She didn't even try to help.' How could his brave, strong, and honorable mini-goddess just flee like a coward and leave him behind? 'Coward…' the word seemed to echo in his thoughts for almost forever as he just hung there in the creature's grip. He felt it squeeze his arm some more in hopes of breaking it. It probably meant the thing was furious at him, and would introduce him to complete pain before devouring his very being. He didn't care though as he thought about what had just happened.

'Please… just let it end quickly.' He thought to himself as he waited for his end. His virtual mini-goddess had shown her true colors, and his whole world and view had seemed to start crashing down before him into a large fiery mess. 'I can't believe I ever had feelings for a coward.' He thought as he closed his eyes.

As he waited for the monster to just finish him off, there came a loud and piercing yowl that sounded almost like a cat. It hurt his ears, but it seemed as if the blunt of the yowl had been directed at the creature. The thing roared in pain as it went to grab its ears. In the progress, he dropped the myopic six-year-old who began to fall towards the ground. At the last moment, a red and black blur landed on the ground, scooped him up, and jumped away from the creature. The Amazons didn't know what had happened, but once noticing that the child was no longer in danger, they charged forward and started to stab their weapons into the distracted monster.

Mu Tzu opened his eyes to see that he had been saved and was in the arms of a redhead who seemed to be his age. The first things he noticed were the crimson ears and tail on the girl. "Are you alright?" She asked in what he knew was Japanese. He had actually taken up learning a little Japanese after his father had visited that country and returned. He didn't know too much of it, but he knew some.

"Yeah," he answered as he looked at the girl. She had saved him from the monster, and she seemed to be nice. To him, it seemed as if she was braver than Xian Pu ever was. She had also managed to save him from death, and she seemed cuter and stronger than Xian Pu could over hope to be. No sound came out of his mouth for a few moments as the cat-girl set him onto his feet. Finally, he found his voice. "I like you."

The girl seemed to blink in confusion for a moment as if trying to figure out the meaning behind it. It then seemed as if she had figured her way out of the confusion and gave a smile of her own. "Thanks, and I think I like you to." She held out a gloved hand. "I'm Sailor Mau, would you like to be friends-nya?"

Mu Tzu smiled at the thought of a friend like her and nodded. "Sure, and I'm Mousse." Of course his name sounded odd in Japanese. He didn't care as he accepted the hand and shook it. He then proceeded to confuse and shock the redhead a little by giving her a small kiss. "You're brave, strong, nice, and cute."

Ranma became completely confused at the statement and action from the boy, and so she had no clue what in the world to do. Why would someone who didn't know her kiss her? She was about to speak when a purple blur rushed into the bespectacled boy. ///Mu Tzu, you're all right! I'm so glad! I thought you were going to die.///

The young boy closed his eyes and sighed. ///Xian Pu, let go of me and get away./// That statement caused the girl to blink and look at him in shock.

///But Mu Tzu, aren't we friends?/// She hated how he constantly tried to get her to fall in love with him, but they were still friends who had known each other since they were babies. ///What's wrong, Mu Tzu?///

///I risked my life to save you from that monster, and what do you do? You run away like a coward. Xian Pu, you are nothing but a weak coward, and I hate you./// Those words hit the purple-haired girl like a two-ton boulder.

///I-- I'm sorry Mu Tzu, but I was just scared. You can't blame a kid for being scared. You were just stupid and foolish for trying to--/// She didn't get to finish before a quick slap hit her across her face. With shock in her eyes, she looked towards her friend who had his glasses off. She could see sadness in his eyes.

///I loved you, Xian Pu. I thought you were brave, strong, and would do anything for someone. You didn't even try to help me like I helped you. You are nothing but a weak coward./// That was the second time that he had said that, and the second time had hurt Xian Pu the most, and she didn't know why. All she could do was cry and run back towards the village.

Ranma didn't know what was going on as she watched the scene before her. She felt sorry for the girl, but the boy seemed equally sad for some reason. "Ranma!" She winced at her real name being said and turned around to see Miki stop right in front of her try to catch her breath. "You-- shouldn't have-- went Sailor Mau-- like that." She managed to finish. "Your father-- saw you transform, but I-- don't know what he's-- thinking." Looking up, she noticed the raven-haired boy standing next to her friend and put her hands to her mouth. "I let it slip, didn't I-nya?" At the redhead's nod, she began to bow like crazy. "Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorry!!"

The cat-girl gave a small shrug. She didn't want people to find out, but if it couldn't be helped. "That's ok, Miki." She said before de-transforming back into her normal gi.

"What going on?" Mu Tzu asked curiously after seeing the girl in front of him change clothes quickly. "What were those clothes?"

The young Saotome scratched the back of her head nervously. "Well, I'm a super hero." That caused the young Amazon boy's eyes to widen as big as saucers. It was then that something else occurred to him.

"I was wondering," he began, "what is with ears and tail?" They made her cute, but he was curious to know how she got them.

Ranma decided to use the excuse that always seemed to work. "I got them from something called the Neko-ken." It has always worked, and there was no reason it shouldn't this time, right?

An old voice made itself known from behind her. "I don't believe the Neko-ken would give cat-ears and a tail, child." The two neo-girls nearly jumped at the voice. Turning around, their eyes caught sight of shriveled and diminutive old woman.

"_**IT'S A MUMMY!**_" Both shouted before receiving a quick hit upside both of their heads with the staff the small woman with white hair carried. "Ow… why'd you do that-nya?" They both asked at the same time before the cat-girl shook her head. "I _**WAS**_ trained in the Neko-ken though."

The old woman's eyes widened in complete horror for a moment before narrowing in anger. "What fool put you through that torture, child?" Whoever would even think of putting a young girl like the one in front of her through that would receive a 'talk'. She then looked towards Mu Tzu. ///Mu Tzu, go back to the village while to talk to these young girls./// The myopic child was about to refuse when he received a glare.

Ranma watched the boy leave before responding. "My father did it." The cat-girl simply stated before waving her hand to Miki. "Miki was one of the kittens in the pit." That statement shocked the old woman for a moment before a thought crossed her.

"You traveled to Jusenkyou, didn't you?"

The redhead nodded. "Miki fell into the same drowned girl spring I did, and papa fell into spring of drowned panda." Her blue eyes spotted the panda form of her father getting closer. "There's papa right now-nya!" She watched as the old woman turned to see a panda trotting quickly towards the village with The Jusenkyou Guide and wife in tow. The neo-girl became confused when the aforementioned old woman ran up towards her father and pressed a spot somewhere behind him that knocked him out. The woman then started yelling orders to other women around the area.

"What's going on, Ranma-nya?" Miki asked in confusion as she watched people drag the pandafied man into the village. She actually liked what was happening to the idiot, but she still wanted to know.

Ranma put a finger to her mouth. "I think I got papa in trouble again." She simply stated with a blush. It seemed like she always managed to do that. It wasn't her fault that her father seemed to always cause trouble. "Come on; let's go make sure papa is alright." The boy turned girl stated as she took off running.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Um… what are you doing to papa?" The young Saotome asked the diminutive white-haired woman as her unconscious pandafied father was being dragged along. "He didn't do anything bad, did he?"

Khu Lon glanced at the redheaded girl -- possibly a boy if what she said about falling into the spring of drowned girl was accurate -- and wondered if she might have actually been part of the Musk Dynasty. The cat features would make it a dead ringer, but there hadn't been a Musk sighting in over 20 years. Many around here thought that they had possibly died out. "Teaching the Neko-ken to a young child such as yourself is considered a severe crime to the Joketsuzoku. Most likely he'll receive a severe punishment, but nothing_** TOO**_ extreme." The matriarch found her arm being grabbed by a pair of hands.

"Please don't hurt papa too much. He's not that bad of a guy. He does cause trouble sometimes, but he promised me he won't do anything bad again, and the Neko-ken was almost two or more months ago." The elder's eyes twitched at the puppy-dog pout attack the six-year-old was making. An emphasis had also been made with her ears flattened on top of her head and her tail drooping to the ground behind her. "I believe what he said about not causing bad problems again, so please don't hurt him."

A sigh escaped the diminutive woman. "Child, the punishment won't be too severe, but he will have to be punished for what he did." She couldn't believe that it had been around two months since this young one had been subjected to that torture, and yet she still seemed to trust her father dearly. "Tell me, how did you come about your cat appendages? I know those can't be from the Neko-ken, and I can feel an odd and strong aura of magic about you." Khu Lon could tell the redhead was trying to figure out if she should tell or not.

Ranma inspected the woman beside her for a few moments. Her senses felt that the elder next to her could be trusted. "A cat-lady alien." That statement had been beyond what the Joketsuzoku elder was expecting. "One night during the Neko-ken, papa was sleeping and I was staring at the stars. Then out of nowhere, a cat-lady alien appeared in the grass. She had a hole in her chest and leg and was bleeding. I was scared because she had cat-features." There was a small shiver at the thought of the event. "She told me that her planet had been attacked, and the people killed. She gave me her transformation ring and sent a beam from her head to mine. I gained her powers and memories, but those memories only appear sometimes. When I first changed into my hero form, I guess I became a Mau." She had obtained a small bit of info about the Mau about two weeks ago. Noticing the confusion of the term on the old woman's face, she explained. "A Mau is an alien who can turn between a human and cat."

Khu Lon gave a small nod. "And you lost your fear of cats when you transformed?" A frown appeared when the girl shook her head. "You don't still have the fear, do you?" To turn into a cat while having a fear of cats couldn't be good.

"I still have a small problem around cats, but I'm getting over it." The redhead motioned to Miki. "Miki has helped me with it. When I first met her, I was completely scared of her. When I found out she had no idea where her home was due to papa, I was able to get over my fear when it came to her." She said with a smile. "Miki is like a sister to me, and I don't want to be afraid of a sister-nya."

The pink-haired girl gave a smile before glomping onto her friend. "And you're like a..." She looked at the neo-girl and tried to figure out what to say. "Brother-sister-nya!" A frown then appeared on her face. "I don't want to refer to Genma as 'papa' though." She said with a shiver. This caused the two to laugh for a few moments.

As they continued to walk, Ranma's eyes caught sight of someone from earlier. "Hey Mousse!" She announced with a smile as she walked up to the raven-haired boy. The aforementioned boy gave his own smile at seeing her. He had decided that he wasn't going to act the way he did with Xian Pu. If he remembered what the pink-haired girl said, the redhead's name was Ranma.

"Hi again, Ranma." He greeted back as he gave the young Saotome a hug instead of some glomp that he usually tried on you-know-who. Letting go, he gave a small blush. "So-- how are you doing from earlier?"

Khu Lon noticed this reaction and frowned. If the situation didn't get resolved, someone was going to get really hurt. "Mousse, how much do you know about the Cursed Springs of Jusenkyou?" She hoped he would be able to take this well.

The boy looked towards the diminutive woman and thought for a second. "The springs completely turn a person into whatever drowned there last with cold water. Hot water turns them back." Why was she asking him this question?

"It seems as if Ranma, her friend Miki, and her father fell into the springs. Her father fell into the panda spring, and he's being carried to a cell right now.' She pointed to the retreating people carrying to unconscious panda. "Ranma and Miki both fell into the same spring: Spring of Drowned Girl."

The six-year-old myopic boy attempted to put two and two together as he looked towards the redhead. 'The Spring of Drowned Girl shouldn't have done anything to her unless…' His eyes widened as the thought came to him. His face broke out into a full blush of embarrassment at the thought of actually kissing a boy, although said boy was a girl at the time. Still, it was completely embarrassing. "You mean I kissed…" At the matriarch's nod, he fell to his knees. After several moments of silence, he looked back up towards the boy turned girl. "S-- sorry for what I did earlier." Just what the hell was he thinking? Oh right, Ranma's girl form was cute and all.

The cat-girl blinked in confusion and tried to figure out what was wrong. "Why are you saying your sorry?" Sure he had kissed her, but was there any real harm in that? Ukyo had kissed _'__**him**__'_ on the cheek before. "It was only a kiss, right?" She asked the three people around her. Miki looked at her before giggling, Mu Tzu blinked in complete surprise, and Khu Lon had started cackling.

"Ranma," Miki began, "I think he kissed you because he liked you. Am I right, Mousse-nya?" The pink-haired girl asked as she looked towards the young boy on his knees.

The Joketsuzoku boy gave a reluctant nod. "I thought you were so strong, brave, nice, and cute, Ranma." Well, she was still possibly all those things, but she was really a boy. It was a huge bummer.

"What's wrong with him liking me-nya?" Ranma asked with a tilt to her head and her tail actually bent into a question mark. Was she missing something in all of this? That question caused the three people to stare at her again before Miki collapsed onto the ground in a fit of giggles. "W-- what?"

The cat turned human shook her head. "I think it's the kind of like between a boy and girl."

"Oh," the cat-girl merely stated as she stood there in silence. "Ooohhh, now I get it." She walked up to Mu Tzu and held a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry about this." She said in sincerity. "You must feel bad that I'm not a true girl." At the boy's sad nod, she smiled. "Hey, but we're still friends, right?" She asked as she began poking him in the shoulder.

The raven-haired boy was silent for a few moments before a smile came to his face. "Yeah, I guess we are." He said as he stood up. "Sorry again for the kiss I gave you." Ranma was a girl at the time, so it shouldn't be _**THAT**_ embarrassing, right?

A laugh escaped the cat-girl as she patted him on the shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about it. It was just a small mistake is all." As the pony-tailed Saotome continued to talk with her new friend, somebody in hiding looked at her with a little hatred. Nodding, the figure moved from the shadows and charged for the target. With a small leap, the figure jumped into the redhead and knocked her down.

///You've turned my friend against me you stupid outsider!/// Xian Pu yelled as she beat her fists against the girl's head. ///IhateyouIhateyouIhateyou!!/// She continued to scream with some tears in her eyes.

///Xian Pu, stop this instant!/// Khu Lon yelled as the three began to reach for the purple-haired child. They stopped when Ranma's tail snaked up and gripped a part of the girl's shirt and tossed her to the ground. The Saotome then stood up and sent a glare towards the other girl.

"I'm not sure what I did, but you didn't have to be so rough." The two six-year-olds glared at each other for a few moments before Xian Pu jumped and tried to tackle the 'friend stealer'. The cat-girl jumped up and landed on the head of the passing girl and used it as a springboard to jump a few feet away before turning. She watched as the young Amazon got up from her visit to the ground and turned.

Without speaking another word, the angered girl charged forward and sent a series of kicks and punches aimed for the cat-girl's stomach and head. The Saotome child managed to dodge a few, but a couple got through and hit her. With a small growl, Ranma flexed her hands before throwing a claw swipe that ripped a series of gashes in her opponent's clothing. This didn't stop the purple-haired girl as she charged forward and knocked the redhead to the ground.

Khu Lon ran up to the grounded girls and managed to pull them apart. They were still glaring at each other, and Ranma's ears were flattened on her head as she hissed. Obvious cat-like and sharp fangs could be seen. 'Just like a cat. She can be cute and innocent one moments, and ferocious and scary the next.' Seeing as how the two children weren't going to calm down by themselves, the matriarch took it upon herself to smack their heads against each other. 'Now, if only Xian Pu understood Japanese.' She thought with a sigh.

///Xian Pu, apologize to Ranma at once for that childishness./// "Ranma, apologize to Shampoo at once for your childishness as well." Maybe the redhead was slightly in the right here, but she had taken part in the scuffle. Her aged eyes watched as the two children glared at each other for a few moments until they finally bowed in apology. ///Now Xian Pu, I want you to go home to your father and stay there until I get back./// The purple-haired girl looked at her for a few moments before turning around sharply and walking off. Turning her attention back to the neo-girl, she began. "I apologize for my great-granddaughter's actions, Ranma. I also think you lost a little control back there as well." The child really did have an equivalent to the Neko-ken with those claws there, and someone could have been really hurt. "Do you realize how dangerous those claws of yours could have been? You could have seriously hurt my great-granddaughter."

Khu Lon had actually expected the blue-eyed girl to have a defiant attitude like Xian Pu, but she actually dropped her head a little and twiddled her fingers. "Sorry about that." She said after a few moments. "That girl just angered me somehow."

Another sigh escaped from the elder. "What I really want to know is, what was that about? What did she mean by 'you've stolen my friend'?" Her eyes watched as Mu Tzu seemed to gain a nervous look about him. "Mousse--"

"My fault," he stated. "Felt betrayed when Shampoo run away instead of help when I was captured by monster. When we met up after Ranma saved me, I told Shampoo that she was a coward and I hated her. I… then slapped her." He received a large whack upside the head from the gnarled staff.

'Children!' The white-haired woman thought to herself in exasperation before leveling a glare at the boy. "I expect you to apologize to her as soon as you can, and I don't appreciate you slapping her. Go home to your mother and inform her of what you did, and you had better have told her about this before I come over later and discuss it." She finished with an obvious threat. With a gulp and a nod, the myopic boy proceeded to run home. Khu Lon then looked towards Ranma and Miki and gave a sigh. "And today started out so calm and peaceful." Shaking her head, she motioned for the two to follow her. "Shampoo probably won't be happy, but I'm bringing you to our home for the moment. Your traveling packs that were being carried by your father will be there as well."

"What are you going to do to my father?" The redhead asked curiously

"For the meantime he'll be locked in a cell, but he won't be in there for too long."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The first thing that had happened as soon as they had arrived at Khu Lon's house was Ranma and Xian Pu getting into a glaring match. The diminutive woman didn't mind this as long as they didn't make a move towards each other. She noticed that Miki was the one who tried to defuse the situation before anything happened, and she managed to succeed in getting them to at least ignore each other. 'Stubborn little children.' The elder thought to herself as she tried to figure out how to get about this with the language barrier. ///Xian Pu, I'd like you to meet Ranma and Miki. They will be staying for a little while, and I would like you to try and get along./// "Ranma, Miki, I'd like you to meet my great-granddaughter, Shampoo. Please try and get along with each other." The matriarch decided that the two guests would have to learn at least some Chinese. It would make it easier.

The purple-haired girl glanced at both of the neo-girls. She gave a smile to Miki, but a glare towards Ranma. ///Why does the stupid outsider girl have to be around me?///

///Xian Pu, this is currently the best place for them to be while Ranma's father is being held. You did see the panda earlier, right?/// At the young girl's nod, she continued. ///That's actually the father. These three have visited Jusenkyou. The father fell into the panda spring, and these two fell into the girl spring. Miki was originally a cat, and Ranma was--///

///A boy, right?/// At the nod, the girl stuck up her nose. ///I don't care if she's a girl or boy. She's still a stupid outsider who turned my friend against me./// To emphasis this, she stuck her tongue out at the redhead. ///Stupid!///

Khu Lon hesitated before translating what was said to the cat-girl. Said cat-girl returned the glare towards Xian Pu. "I guess we have the same feelings for each other… stupid head!" She shouted as she stuck out her tongue as well. The matriarch and Miki shared a sweat-drop as they watched the two trying to outdo each other in glares and sticking their tongues out. With a sigh, the old woman gave both children a whack upside the head. She proceeded to tell both of them that such childishness was not needed, and that she'd put them to work doing things together until they got along.

///But great-grandmother, that's not fair!/// The same thing had roughly been echoed by Ranma at the same time. The two gave another glare towards each other before the Saotome walked over, grabbed Miki, and walked over to the traveling packs.

"I've never seen you dislike someone this much, Ranma." Not even that boy at that false tournament had enticed this much displeasure. "Come on, she can't be that bad of a person. She's only angry because that Mousse boy is angry at her-nya." If the two Amazon's patched things up, then maybe the purple-haired girl would be nicer.

"She's a stupid head." Ranma answered with her arms crossed. "I didn't do anything to her and she attacked me." She didn't understand why, but the negative emotions that rolled around Xian Pu when they were directed towards her seemed to affect her incredibly. "I'll never be friends with someone like that." She added as she gave a side punch to the traveling pack her father usually carried. Two pairs of blue eyes watched as the pack fell over to the ground and lost a few items. With a sigh, the two walked over and proceeded to pick up the stuff that fell out.

As the cat turned human was putting a couple of the things away, she noticed something. Glancing at it, she noticed that it was some kind of address, and there was a picture included with it. The small photo consisted of a kindly looking woman with reddish-brown hair. 'She looks sort of like Ranma.' Glancing at the address, she saw that it said the name Nodoka Saotome. Too bad she didn't know how to read though. Blinking, she looked towards her friend. "Ranma, do you know this lady?" At the neo-girl's blank look, she provided the picture. Upon looking, a small memory in the back of Ranma's mind flickered.

"Th-- that's my mama-nya!!" She shouted as her ears stood straight up and her tail seemed to move around erratically. This shout caused Khu Lon to pogo up to the two. "I think this is where she lives. Maybe I could write to her!" Her ears and tail suddenly drooped. "I don't know how to write well, though." She finally had a connection to her mother, but there wasn't a thing she could do about it.

The Joketsuzoku matriarch watched the scene for a moment before responding. "Maybe I could help you construct a letter for her, child." The redhead seemed to almost blur as she stood up onto her feet and faced the elder with the greatest kitten-style puppy-dog look that anyone had ever seen.

"R-- really-nya?" Ranma asked while not believing what she was hearing. At the older woman's nod, the six-year-old gave a shout of joy and grabbed the white-haired Amazon in an incredible glomp. "Thank you Cologne-baasan-nya!" The elder blinked at the 'baasan' part, but then she gave a small smile.

"How about we work on that letter right now?" The redhead in front of her gave a vigorous nod that caused the old woman to wonder how her neck didn't even snap off. Perhaps having these two here would be more amusing than she thought.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After helping Ranma create the letter addressed to the Saotome matriarch, which would be sent next week when the mail courier arrived again, Khu Lon decided to test the two newcomers' martial arts skills and help them learn a little Chinese. She became pleasantly surprised at the potential that the Saotome child seemed to possess, and even though Miki only had a basic grasp, it seemed as if she had some potential herself. There was a lot of work to do for the pink-haired girl though, but it seemed that her friend could handle it.

The redhead didn't appreciate the thought of having to stick around with Xian Pu most of the time though. It seemed the two always managed to get under each other's skin, and the young Amazon didn't care if the other was in boy form or girl form. She still thought of the child as a nuisance, and Khu Lon had to break up many a scuffle the two managed to get into. It seemed that the two were forming an intense rivalry with each other that spurred one to try and outdo the other. The Saotome had mentioned that it seemed that the negative feelings that other gave off seemed to be the cause of her equally negative feelings for the girl, and it didn't seem like it would mend anytime soon.

The negativity was still there even after Mu Tzu gave his apologies to Xian Pu and re-mended their friendship. The purple-haired girl was as stubborn as hell, and it seemed Ranma was equally as stubborn. Ah well, at least it spurred them to get things done quicker so they didn't have to spend as much time with each other. Chores seemed to get done at record time when both had to do them.

The myopic boy had even gotten permission from his mother to teach his new friend how to do the Hidden Weapons style. He may have still been learning himself, but he was able to teach what he knew to his pony-tailed friend. Xian Pu -- not wanting to be outdone by an outsider and having said outsider spending more time with her friend -- had attempted to learn as well. The only problem was that she seemed to not be able to get the basics of it down. So instead, she decided to just help with Miki. She seemed to get along nicely with the pink-haired girl for some odd reason.

Khu Lon also wanted to figure out a few things about Ranma's Senshi form. The six-year-old had been reluctant, but decided that there would be no harm in it. First she had the Saotome transform into male Senshi mode. The elder proceeded to dump some water on him to see what happened. As she predicted, the cat-child changed into female Senshi mode. It seemed as if the outfit and magic would change according to the water.

The magic part had also intrigued the elder. It was interesting that the Saotome's magic seemed to be stronger while in female Senshi form than in male, and the white-haired woman had a vague understanding of why. The Amazons actually had old text that had been leftover from an ancient kingdom from thousands of years ago. The text talked about the other Senshi who were female, and Khu Lon guessed that the reason for Ranma's female form being stronger was due to something along those lines. That something being that the female form was more open and sensitive to the magical energy connection from the planets that they were bonded with.

That led to a small experiment the elder wanted to try. The magic seemed to be easier to use for a certain spell template that had already been decided, but maybe the Saotome child could do a little more with it. Not too much more, but try and learn a few things. The first thing Khu Lon had Ranma to do was to put her hands together and attempt to bring forth the raw magic that was within her into the area between her hands. This would allow them to see just how much the redhead had at the moment.

The cat-girl nodded and attempted to force out her magical energies into her hands. It was easier said than done, though. It had taken a few minutes and several drops of sweat before Ranma had all of her raw magical energy -- condensed into about the size of a basketball -- between her hands. It didn't last long before it all dissipated, and -- to everyone's shock -- the cat-girl had collapsed and turned into her kitten form. After coming to, they found out that she couldn't transform back into human. Khu Lon went on to theorize that it was possible that after using up all of her magical energy, it had weakened her and caused her to change into the form that was suitable for replenishing her magic. Until that magic was replenished, she would be stuck in her kitten form.

The idea had slightly depressed Ranma, but it went away once Miki decided to go back into her original form and spend however much time it took as a cat with her friend. It took about four days for the Saotome to regain all the raw magic back, but those four days had actually been fun. The cat-child had thought it was fun to get to know the kitten form a little more, and had appreciated that Miki had decided to spend that time back in her kitten form as well.

When they transformed back, it had come as a slight shock to see that Miki had gained cat-ears and a tail of her own in human form. She still transformed into a kitten with water, but it looked like there was a small golden dot growing on her forehead in kitten form. Nobody really knew what was going on, but Khu Lon suggested that maybe some of Ranma's magic had been transferred to Miki somehow, and that the pink-haired cat-girl might be turning into what Ranma was. The neo-cat-girl's reaction to this had been predictable: glomping onto her friend and joyfully babbling uncontrollably.

It had been a little over a week since arriving at the Joketsuzoku, and Ranma and Miki were practicing martial arts with both Xian Pu and Mu Tzu. Khu Lon had drilled the Chinese language into the two cat-girls without rest in hoping the two could learn quickly. To her joy, the two had learned how to roughly speak a little of the language, and could now communicate with Xian Pu. They had also sent the letter to Ranma's mother a couple of days ago.

///You're not doing the form right, outsider./// Xian Pu commented with a glare towards the Saotome child. ///I guess it makes sense though.///

Ranma -- currently in boy form -- glared at the purple-haired girl. ///I do it right, so stupid head shut up-nya!/// He had never met someone who annoyed him this much.

The smirk on the girl's face aggravated him. ///You realize how much of a bimbo you sound like right now? Your ability to talk sucks./// It was so amusing to annoy the sometimes boy, sometimes girl like that. ///You _**ARE**_ just a stupid outsider though.///

///Purple-haired brat///

///Gender-changing freak///

///Smelly///

///Cat-butt///

///Coward///

Mu Tzu and Miki shared a sweat-drop as they watched their two friends glare at each other with intensity. ///I think they have long way to go./// The pink-haired cat-girl whispered to the myopic boy. Said boy could only nod slowly as he watched the two proceed to stick their tongues out at each other. He then watched as Khu Lon walked up to the two and whacked them on the heads.

///Why can't you two just get along?/// The matriarch asked with a heavy sigh. The two children pointed towards each other and yelled 'she/he started it' at the same time before glaring again. They then had the pleasure of another whack upside their heads. ///As much as I can appreciate intense rivalry, you two are taking it to a level of complete immaturity, and I don't care if you are just children.///

///Sorry great-grandmother/Khu Lon-baasan-nya./// They both said with heads lowered and tilted away from each other. Both were thinking the exact same thing in their minds. 'She/he is the one who should be punished.'

Khu Lon was about to say something when a young Amazon rushed to the area. ///I'm sorry to interrupt Elder Khu Lon, but we have a big problem./// The white-haired elderly woman allowed her to continue. ///That man who turns into a panda was able to get out somehow and attempted to steal a few valuables. We managed to catch him, but he was able to defeat and injure a few warriors before he was caught./// Her eyes looked towards the boy that she knew was the child of the man. What she saw was utter shock, horror, and various other emotions playing across his face. 'Damn, it must be hard to hear that a parent of yours did something terrible.' The young Amazon thought before she waited for the matriarch to follow.

///Lead the way, Orchid./// The elderly woman stated with a sigh before looking to the four children. ///You four stay here for right no--/// She watched as a shocked Ranma ran towards the direction the Amazon came from. ///Damn it./// Khu Lon said to herself. The boy didn't need to put up with this right now. That was especially true if the look she saw on his face was any indication. 'Someone's going to be hurt the most, and I don't think it will be the panda fool.' She thought as she hopped after the direction Ranma went.

This left three children to look at each other. One of them, a neo-cat-girl, gave a small curse. ///Damn it, Genma./// She stated as she looked at the confused looks on her friends' faces. ///Genma already destroy Ranma's trust. Ranma forgave him and asked not to do more bad things. Genma promised that he wouldn't do more bad things. Ranma believed him.///

Xian Pu's face actually gained a frown. ///So this will be a very bad thing for Ranma?/// At the pink-haired cat-girl's nod, the purple-haired girl actually looked a little concerned. ///I hope Ranma won't be too hurt by this./// She saw the shocked looks. ///I may not like Ranma much, but to have your trust destroyed is a bad thing./// Her eyes drifted towards Mu Tzu. ///I destroyed your trust once, and I know how bad it must be.///

The raven-haired boy gave a slow nod at that. They had renewed their friendship, but they still had trouble around each other. ///Come on, let's go make sure Ranma will be ok./// At the nods of the other two, they proceeded to make their way towards the direction where something was bound to blow up.

xxA.Nxx

Yay, I finished another chapter.

Hmm… so Genma has pulled a stupid and did something terrible, and Ranma found out about it. Reality and truth can be quite a hard thing.

I don't know about anybody else, but I loved the whole Ranma saving Mousse scene, and I liked the whole Ranma and Shampoo childishly at each other's throats part as well.

And so a letter from Ranma has been sent to Nodoka. She is sure to learn about the curse, and would have to do a whole lot of soul searching.

I think I might have to take away one of those speech symbols. It's getting a little crowded, and not many symbols work. Maybe I'll get rid of the cat speak symbols and change the '/' to signs, and the '//' to Chinese.


	6. Scratching the Surface

A Surviving Mau

Ranma ½, Sailor Moon, and any other series used in this fanfic are owned by their respectful owners. I do not own anything about them at all.

Thanks to CyberSkaarj for pre-reading

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

/Chinese/

//Cat speak//

Chapter 6

Many Amazons who were going about their business noticed a small blur shooting past them. On closer inspection, they were able to see that the blur was actually a boy of six-years-old with raven-black hair, blue eyes, and a white gi. If they were to have taken a closer look, they would have seen a myriad of emotions playing across the boy's eyes. The most prominent of these emotions plastered upon his small face was the common emotion known as anger. Of course, those who didn't know what was happening wouldn't really understand why the young boy was running or angry.

The young raven-haired boy had finally found himself at the area of where the commotion was taking place, and his azure eyes looked on upon the scene that greeted him. His bespectacled father was currently being restrained by a few angry Amazon women who had various weapons aimed at him, and were daring him to move. A few others seemed to also be nursing an arm, leg, or had various small cuts upon their person. His father -- a fake smile upon his face -- was attempting to try and get out of the situation he currently found himself in.

"Now is there any reason for the hostilities? I was just testing out your defenses is all, and you can't blame a guy for finding out that they aren't all that good. I mean, if one man could get through it all, then it just shows you need more training." Genma stated with a nervous laugh as he began sweating bullets. 'I didn't think a bunch of crazy women would be this good.' "It was only a few minor treasures, and I didn't mean to be too rough on your warriors, who seem to be just novices." Of course, his speech fell mostly upon the deaf ears of those who couldn't speak Japanese. Although there were a few who did speak that language, and those few were not the least bit happy.

The older Saotome's attention was brought towards the direction of a small noise. Turning his head towards the sound, he spotted his son rooted to a spot. Ranma's emotions seemed to be schooled as the young boy looked directly at the larger man. "Don't just stand there boy, help your poor and innocent father out here. This is all just one big misunderstanding, and you know that, right?" The man knew the boy would buy it, and that the boy would start begging them to let his 'innocent father' go. That odd charm he seemed to have with people would work just wonders. Now, if only he could figure out how to get the boy to use it a lot more.

The young cat-boy's features remained the same as he slowly walked up towards the large man and stopped just inches from him. The Amazons around the area were curious to see just what would happen between parent and child. "You broke your promise." The child merely stated as his features turned into a frown. "You told me you wouldn't do anything bad anymore, but then you do this. You tried to steal things from these people, and you also hurt some people." His blue eyes looked towards the warriors who had injuries. Looking back towards the man he thought he respected, he uttered one thing. "Why?"

"Why what, boy?" Genma asked as tried to refrain from sweating. This wasn't going according to plan, and he couldn't figure out why. He had planned it a few days ago, and figured it would be a piece of cake. His son should have tried to pour on the cute and innocent charm by now, and these women should have started to fawn over him and give the bespectacled man a way to freedom while they were distracted.

The frown deepened on the young boy, and everyone could almost feel the air around them turn cold and very heavy. "Why did you do something bad again, damn it!" He asked in a louder voice. "Was it all just a lie?" The young Saotome had never felt this much anger before. The closest thing to it was when he found out about the stolen yattai.

His father put up a forced laugh. "Come on, boy!" He announced with a stern look. "I'm helping you build character. I'm just showing you that staying around these women who had a hard time capturing someone like me will make you soft and weak. I don't think your mother would ever appreciate a weak son who turns into a girl. She wanted you to get strong before she saw you again." Using Nodoka as bait for the boy had worked several times as well in the past. "I do know where she is, and if you do become a true man, I'll help you get in contact with her."

There was a slight crack in the young boy's emotions at the mention of his mother. "I don't need your help. I found where she lives in your pack and had Cologne-baasan to help make a letter to her, and we sent it a few days ago." He saw the pale look on his father's face. "What?"

"Y-- you didn't mention the curse, did you?" At his son's nod, he grew frightened. "Stupid boy, do you realize what you've done?! Your mother will kill us both!" He shouted while shooting a glare towards the boy. At the child's confused look, he went on. "Remember when I had you finger paint on that paper before we left? That was actually a seppuku contract, boy." The young Saotome's eyes widened. He had heard what seppuku was once or twice. "I made a promise to turn you into a man amongst men. If I failed on that, then we'd all have to commit seppuku! What the hell is wrong with you boy?! We're going to die because of you!"

Ranma backed up a couple steps at what his father had just said. Would his mother really… no, she wouldn't really do that. A mother wouldn't do that to her family. "Mama wouldn't do anything like that." He said defiantly.

"You're a fool if you think that, boy." Genma stated with a continued glare. "Family honor is very important to her. If only you weren't so weak as to fall into that spring. Oh woe is me to be cursed with such a weak and ungrateful so--" He didn't get to finish before a small fist smashed into his face with enough force to knock him backwards onto his back. "Wha-- what?" The bespectacled man asked as his eyes looked upon his son. A sweat-drop formed when he saw that the boy's eyes had taken a cold and cat-like quality to them, and he was flexing his 'claws' while baring his fangs. The sight of this had actually shocked the Amazons who had been interested in watching the family squabble. "N-- now boy, there's no reason to g-- get angry."

"Mama would never do that… _**JACKASS!!**_" Ranma shouted as he leapt for his father and proceeded to give the older restrained martial artist the most severe beating that he had ever had since training under Happosai. The witnesses to the one-sided battle actually wondered if they should try and help, but found the sight of the fat fool getting the snot beaten out of him whilst chained enjoyable. They did slightly wince when the man was knocked headfirst into the wall though.

/Ranma, stop!/ Khu Lon shouted as she made it to the scene along with another matriarch -- this one was about 50 years younger with pale orange hair and not shriveled up. The elderly matriarch looked upon what was going on and became shocked. The young Saotome boy actually seemed to be lost in a cat-like rage as he continued to maul his father. Rushing forward, she attempted to press the sleep pressure-point on the cat-boy. Before she could even press the point, he jumped out of the way and landed on all fours. 'It's almost like he's lost in the Neko-ken.' The silver-haired woman thought as she looked at the boy who was on all fours and staring at her. She then watched as the child took a look at his thoroughly trashed father and took off past the shocked elder and becamelost in the village.

After a moment, the diminutive woman had regained her composure. Pointing to a few Amazons, she gave a command. /You four over there! Take the fat fool and lock him back up in a cell with chains on him!/ She then pointed her staff to a few others. /You over there, help me find the young child who ran away from here so he doesn't get hurt. It's possible that you might also find him in the form of a young girl with red hair. Just look for a cat-tail -- and maybe ears -- and you wouldn't miss./

After watching the assembled people leave, the younger matriarch next to Khu Lon gave a wry smile. /Well, it looks like there'll be interesting times ahead for this village./ She received a glare from the smaller woman. /Surly you agree with me, Elder Khu Lon. Two children who act like cats, your great-granddaughter finding herself a rival, and you know what it means for that fat fool now that he defeated a few of--/

/You truly want to send some young and promising Amazons to a fate worse than death, Xiao Lu? I'm sure many of those girls will go on to say that they were only injured, and not defeated. Even the ones who will admit to being defeated would probably rather slit the man's throat than try and claim him for marriage. From what I caught, it also sounded like he was married./

/I feel sorry for the poor woman who married that useless sack of bones./ Xiao Lu stated with a shiver. Both elders heard a noise and turned around to spot Mu Tzu, Xian Pu, and Miki. /I'm afraid you have missed your friend. The child started acting like a crazed lunatic cat and ran into the village somewhere./

/Xiao Lu!/ The smaller woman shouted. /I swear, you younger matriarchs have no tact when it comes to these things./ She grumbled and sent a glare towards an innocently whistling pale orange-haired woman. Shaking her head, she turned back to the trio. /It seems that Ranma ended up getting upset and angry enough at his father to go into a slight rage. We currently have no idea where he is, and that is why I have sent some Amazons to look for him./

Miki seemed to have gotten an odd look on her face as she put a hand to her chest. /I think… I feel him./ The pink-haired cat-girl stated. This earned her a look from the people present. /I can feel what Ranma feel. Lots of… anger and feeling of betrayal./ Azure eyes became slightly glazed as the young girl turned around and started to slowly walk. The group looked at each other before following the neo-cat-girl. They seemed to follow her for about five minutes before they arrived at a group of trees near a wall. Making her way around the tree, the cat turned human spotted her friend. /Ranma?/

/He complete jackass-nya./ Ranma simply stated as he looked up at his friend. The raven-haired boy was currently sitting on the ground in front of the middle tree with his legs pulled up close to him. /Can't believe ever trusted him. I hate him./

His friend sat down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. /I hated him from start-nya./ She stated with a smirk. /You know that though./ She managed to at least get a chuckle out of the boy. Miki was at a slight loss for what to do. She wasn't too familiar with human emotions, and she was too young to know how to solve a situation like this. All she knew was that she wanted to help her friend somehow. /Don't worry, I here for you… brother-sister./ The girl finished with a twinkle in her eyes. /Who needs fat fool?/

The young Saotome started to feel a little better. /You right, who needs jackass? You better family than he./ Something else filtered into his mind. /You really think my mother kill me?/ It seemed almost impossible to think of in his mind. /What if send letter was bad idea-nya?/ The thought started to depress him again. /I not know if-- OW!/ He shouted in pain as he turned his head to see Xian Pu standing there.

/Feh, just like a weak outsider. You get a little emotional, and then it's all over./ The purple-haired girl stated with a large frown. /You're not even worth my time, gender-changing freak./

Ranma stood up quickly and grabbed the girl by the collar. /You take that back, coward!/ The nerve of this girl. She didn't even have the least bit of sympathy for him. /I not weak, and I better than _**YOU**_. You the one not worth my time!/ The two glared at each other for a few moments before Xian Pu smirked.

/Then prove it, outsider. I dare you. Forget about that fool of a father and become better than he is./ Her gaze hardened. /You are not better than me. I am and will be the greatest Amazon warrior ever./ The girl stated with her arms crossed.

/Hah! I'll become better martial artist than you. You think I lose to you?/ The two sent off another intense glare from each other before turning around and not looking at each other.

'Never underestimate the true power of a rivalry.' Khu Lon thought with a cackle. 'I'm actually glad I never put a stop to it. The boy would probably still be out of it if it wasn't for that kick-start from my great-granddaughter.' Her expression turned into a frown. 'Now, what to do with that foolish panda?' Her mind also ran over the little info she gained about the Ranma's mother. 'For your sake, Nodoka Saotome, you better not think of trying to have a child commit suicide.'

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nodoka blinked when she found the name and address on a letter that she had just received. The return address of the envelope read: Ranma Saotome, Joketsuzoku Village, Bayankala Mountain Range, and Qinghai Province, China. Of course, only one thing entered her mind as she read that address. "It's from Ranma?" With gusto, she tore open the envelope and began to read.

'_Hi mama! It's me, Ranma. I have help writing this letter from a matriarch elder from the Amazon village I'm staying at in China. You won't believe it, but papa got in trouble a little and is currently being held by the Amazons.'_

That caused the auburn-haired woman to wonder just what her husband had done to warrant being held captive by them. She really hoped it wasn't anything too stupid.

'_The Amazons are nice, and I've also made a friend named Mu Tzu. He can't see very well, but he's good at a martial arts style called Hidden Weapons. There's also another person I met that I don't like. Her name is Xian Pu, and she's a friend of Mu Tzu's. She's just a big meanie. We always seem to argue and annoy each other.'_

That actually caused Nodoka to giggle at that thought. The thought of her son and a young Chinese girl arguing and trying to get under each other's skin just sounded so cute. Well, at least the way it was put down. It was also great that her son had managed to make a friend in a foreign country. At least he wouldn't be alone over there.

'_Before we came to this Amazon Village, we stopped at a place called Jusenkyou. It's a place that is also known as the Valley of Cursed Springs. If someone falls into one of the springs, then they are cursed to turn into anything that drowned in the spring last. Hot water changes them to normal, and cold water turns them back into the cursed form.'_

"Cursed springs?" The woman thought in worry. She wanted to think of it as just make-believe, but something in her was telling her that it was all true. "Why would Genma go to a place like that if it's cursed?" The thought filled her with dread, and she thought that maybe they ended up getting cursed. As she continued to read, she found that her question had indeed been answered.

'_Papa tried to get me to hop onto the bamboo poles to train. I didn't want to because the place felt bad. It felt like a lot of bad magic, and my cat senses felt terrible as well. Miki thought so too! Papa didn't listen, grabbed Miki, and jumped onto the poles. It was hard to do, but I managed to follow. I almost fell into a few springs before the bamboo pole papa was on snapped from under him and caused him to fall into a spring. He accidentally tossed Miki as he fell. I was able to grab her, and we both fell into a spring.'_

Now that caused a serious sense of dread within the Saotome Matriarch as she stopped for a second. She wasn't sure if she should keep going or not. They could have transformed into any number of terrible things. Like a demon, a slug, or maybe even something obscure like a Yeti-Riding-Bull-Carrying-Crane-and-Eel. Working up her nerve, she read on.

'_Papa fell into Spring of Drowned Panda, and so now he becomes a large panda with cold water. Miki and I fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl. I now become a girl with cold water, and Miki becomes a human girl at about my age as well. It doesn't seem too much different to me that how I usually am though, except for the red hair and red fur on my ears and tail. Miki's human form has pink hair with small black highlights also.'_

'A girl?' Nodoka thought with a frown as she closed her eyes. 'Genma failed before he even really started. Well, it could be worse.' She thought with a light smile. 'What am I going to do now, though? The seppuku contract is for family honor, and Genma failed to uphold it. Family honor is important beyond anything else.' Lost in her thoughts, she almost didn't notice that there was something else that had come with the letter. Picking it up, she noticed that it was another photo. In the photo was an image of two children. The one on the left had crimson-colored hair, blue eyes, and crimson-colored cat-ears and tail. The one on the right looked to be about the same height as the redhead. She had pink hair with black highlights and azure eyes as well.

'That must be Ranma and Miki.' The auburn-haired woman thought with a sad look. Upon closer inspection of her son turned daughter, a small smile formed on her face. 'She looks a lot like I did when I was a child.' It was almost like looking into a mirror. The two neo-girls also looked so innocent, care-free, and adorable. After a moment of staring, she tore her eyes away and began to read the rest of the letter.

'_I really do miss you mama, and I was so excited when Miki and I discovered your address in papa's traveling pack. It was your photo that made me remember since Miki can't read and I sometimes have trouble reading myself. I was sad when I remembered I couldn't write very well, but then Khu Lon-baasan offered to help me. I miss being near you, your hugs, your cooking, your voice, and many other things. Papa never talks about you, and I hope I'll get to see you again soon. I'll keep your picture close so I don't forget you. _

_Bye Mama_

_Love, Ranma Saotome.'_

As she finished reading the letter, Nodoka could feel the tears flowing freely down her cheeks. How could she even consider killing a child-- her own even? Here she was trying to figure out ways to salvage family honor when her own baby was almost alone in a foreign country and had missed her since he left. 'Why does this have to be so complicated?' She asked herself as she held her head in one of her hands. Upon another inspection of the letter, she noticed that there was a mailing address for the area her son was staying at. Perhaps -- for right now -- she could put this whole contract aside and try to get to get in contact with her child. They could always revisit the problem on hand at a later date. After she got to know her son again was a good idea. 'It's not going away; I'm just putting it off until later.' She said to herself as she got a piece of paper and began to write.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After Xian Pu had 'talked some sense' into him, Ranma decided to mostly forget about his father try to get to know the area of Joketsuzoku a little better. Sure, he had decided to visit his father at the man's cell about two times a week, but that was mostly because the man was still his family. His respect for the older Saotome hadn't gone up very far after the incident a few days ago, but the man deserved a little company. Besides, the raven-haired cat-boy had discovered something that could cause his father to nearly pop a blood vessel. It had been discovered quite by accident as well.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx _**(Flashback)**_

An Amazon standing guard at the prison building spotted a certain redheaded girl coming in her direction, and she was able to recognize said girl by the cat-tail that swished behind her. With only two children in the village who possessed the ears and tail of a cat, it was hard to _**NOT**_ know who they were. /I take it you're here to meet your father, Ranma?/ She asked curiously. At the child's nod, the woman bowed. /Please go on right ahead./

/Thank you./ The cat-girl stated as she walked into the building and made her way with the inside guard to where the cell containing her father was. It seemed as if the man wasn't going to let being confined stop him from his martial arts, and that was one of the few things that Ranma still admired about the guy. "Hey there, pops. I see that you are deep in training?"

There was a snort from the older Saotome. "Feh, if you think I'm just going to sit in here and lose my edge, then you don't know me very-- WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WEARING!?!" The bespectacled man shouted as he pointed towards his child. The question confused the redhead, but the man elaborated further. "Why the hell are you wearing a dress, boy?!"

Realization dawned on the boy turned girl. "Well, I'm currently a girl, and I don't see anything wrong with wearing girl clothes as a girl." She tapped on her chin for a second. "This is also a dress used for training, and there's nothing wrong with wearing proper clothing to train, is there?"

"You're a boy and you should dress like one. I don't care if you are in girl form, take that dress of now!" It seemed that Genma really was threatening to burst a blood vessel at the sight of it. "Quit dressing like a weak girl!"

Ranma blinked at this before her eyes widened. Clapping her hands, she figured something out. "Say pops, me dressing like this annoys you, doesn't it?" She asked with a sly grin. The look on the man's face only confirmed it. Giving a giggle, she waved and turned around. "See you later, pops!" She ignored the older Saotome's shouts as she started to walk out of the building.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx _**(End Flashback)**_

Ranma didn't know why it bugged his father so much, but it just seemed to make sense. If he was going to train as a boy, he'd use boy clothes. If he was training as a girl, he'd use girl clothing. Whatever he/she wore, it was always tons better than that old and smelly gi. He was finally glad to be rid of that stupid thing and into better clothing. It was a mystery how the older Saotome could stand to always wear those things.

Miki was slowly making progress in her own training. The two cat-children had spoken to Khu Lon about their tails, and how the pink-haired girl's tail needed to be toughened up to avoid coming under extreme pain. The matriarch had frowned and stated that for removing the weakness, the only method that seemed to work well would be the pulling and squeezing method. For strengthening the tail, however, they wouldn't need to hang from a tree with a weight pulling on their tail. They could have a weight band fashioned for them that could be worn on the tail. The weight could be started out low, but gradually increase. Not only would it be easier than the previous way, but it would be easier to get around. As for pulling and squeezing, the cat turned human would only allow Ranma to do that, since the Saotome child knew how it felt and could relate better than anyone. The raven-haired boy didn't want to, but knew that it was the only way.

The raven-haired boy had also discovered something about his kitten form that disturbed him greatly. It was a few days ago when he was trying to figure out a little more about his full feline form and he had run into a couple of children his own age.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx _**(Flashback)**_

Neko-Ranma stretched as he looked around his surroundings a little before he started to walk somewhere. He was currently attempting to train his feline form in martial arts again. The raven-furred kitten could hop around, kick, punch, and several other things while on his back legs. He still couldn't stand for long periods of time, but he was getting better at it. /Hey, check this out, Chu, Koriko!/ A young girl announced as she walked up towards the young Saotome. She had dark green hair and black eyes. Coming up to her was a boy with short red hair and amber eyes. On his forehead were a couple of band-aids. There was also another girl with blonde hair and blue eyes.

/Hey, you're right Asahi. This cat really is something. It's really weird, and that spot on its head is freakish as well./ The boy, Chu, stated as he flicked Ranma on the ear and laughed.

/Idiot./ Ranma stated in annoyance. Jeez, who did these kids think they were? All three stared at him in big eyes before deciding they were just hearing something. The boy gave a weird grin before he took the bandages on his forehead off.

/Come on, hold the cat down. I want to see him run around like crazy trying to get this off./ As if complying, Koriko and Asahi attempted to grab the blue-eyed kitten, but he jumped out of the way and landed on Asahi's head. He was too slow, however, to dodge from Chu. The amber-eyed boy then quickly slapped the bandages onto Ranma's forehead.

/Henya!/ The boy turned kitten blinked before he attempted to talk gain. /Nyaa, nyah, nyao!/ This was starting to freak him out. He couldn't talk, and it had to be because of those bandages. He couldn't take them off with his paws though, and he couldn't even transform back to human. Looking up, his blue eyes could see the children laughing. /You will pay when I get back to normal./ He thought as he turned around and ran.

Ranma had to dodge around feet of passing people as he attempted to look for Miki. She could help him the most out of everyone. Looking around frantically, it seemed as if he had looked for almost 10 minutes before he spotted Xian Pu. With hope, he ran up to the purple-haired girl and jumped into her arms. /Nya, Nyaa, Nyao!/ He frantically shouted trying to get her attention.

The young Amazon looked at him and blinked for a moment. It looked like Ranma's kitten form, but the boy was able to talk as a kitten. Her logic went on to say that this couldn't be her rival. /I'm sorry kitty, but I have no time to play./ She said as she set the kitten down. /Go off and play somewhere else./

//Wait, it's me, Ranma! Get back here Xian Pu!// The raven-haired feline shouted out as he followed the girl. It seemed the great-granddaughter of Khu Lon ignored him as she continued on her way. It was five more minutes until Ranma called out again. //Xian Pu, please help me!!// Blue eyes watched as Miki came into view and the two girls greeted each other. With full hope in his chest, the boy turned kitten ran up to his friend and jumped into her arms. //Miki, please help! Some kids put bandages on my golden mark, and now I can't talk or transform!!// He shouted with tears threatening to flow out of his eyes. //I don't know why Xian Pu wouldn't help me…//

/I don't know why, but that cat has been following me for several minutes./ The young Amazon stated while she scratched the back of her head in confusion. She noticed the glare on her friend's face. /Wh-- what did I do?/

/It's ok, Ranma. I'll help you./ The pink-haired girl stated as she pulled the bandages off. What she said shocked Xian Pu. /Can you talk or transform again?/ She asked as she set her friend down. The boy turned kitten closed his eyes for a moment and concentrated. His form then started to shift, and pretty soon he was in his human form. /Are you ok, Ranma?/

/I-- I think so./ The raven-haired boy answered back with a shiver. He never wanted to go through that again. Turning his head, azure eyes met with Xian Pu's eyes. /Why didn't you help me, Xian Pu?/

The purple-haired girl had a hand over her mouth in shock. /I-- I'm sorry about that, Ranma. I didn't know it was you./ She put a hand on the boy's shoulder. /I knew you could talk as a kitten, and so I didn't really think that was you. I'm very sorry./ To be stuck helplessly in his kitten form without the ability to talk must have been terrible. Both girls then watched as the boy stood up. /What are you going to do, Ranma?/

The cat-boy narrowed his eyes. /Getting back at the kids who did it to me-nya./

/Oh! Count me in, Ranma./ Xian Pu stated with a feral grin. /I won't allow anybody else to harm my rival but me!/ The young Saotome blinked at her for a few moments before shrugging. /So, what are their names?/

/Chu, Asahi, and Koriko./

/Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!/ The great-granddaughter of Khu Lon shouted as Ranma and she started going on a hunt for three certain kids. Miki watched them leave and almost felt sorry for the other kids… almost.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx _**(End Flashback)**_

After the aforementioned incident, nobody really knew what had happen to the three. All that was known was that the three were completely scared of Ranma and Xian Pu, and that the three smelled of rotten fish heads for two whole weeks. The only people who knew the true story wouldn't talk about it. Three wouldn't talk because they were petrified to say, and two wouldn't say because they didn't want to. Khu Lon had tried to figure it out, but not even she could get the story out of anybody.

The event actually brought Ranma and Xian Pu closer. They weren't exactly friends, but they weren't enemies either. They had a grudging respect for each other that they wouldn't admit. If one was in trouble, or in need of help, then the other would step in to help and 'complain' about the other giving them problems. When someone mentioned something about them being friends, the two would stare at the person as if they were crazy, and then they would insult each other. This would usually lead to a small scuffle that would end with each having a bruise or two.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma ducked under a punch that was aimed for his head. Lashing out with his leg, he watched as Xian Pu jumped over and tried to come down with a kick of her own. Rolling to the side, the pony-tailed boy proceeded with a leg sweep that knocked the purple-haired girl off her feet. What Ranma didn't expect was to be kicked in the chest as his opponent fell onto her back. The kick knocked him back a little, but he managed to regain his footing just in time to catch his opponent's punch and sent a palm strike to her forehead. Not wasting a second, he proceeded to send several quick punches. Some were dodged, but some struck their target.

Nursing her arm a little, Xian Pu leapt forward quickly and dodged another punch. With this dodge, the purple-haired Amazon turned around and spin-kicked Ranma's shoulder and knocked him towards the ground. With the grace of a cat, the cat-boy turned and landed on all fours. As he landed, Ranma dodged to the side to avoid a kick to his head. Turning around, he grabbed Xian Pu's leg with his tail and proceeded to pull her towards him. When she was close, he used his claws to scratch her a couple times on the arm before tossing her to the ground. The raven-haired boy soon found himself yanked by his tail and kissing dirt as well. /You forget that your tail can be both a weakness and weapon, outsider./ Xian Pu stated with a smirk on her face. She still found it interesting how the cat-boy could move around so fluidly when he was on his hands and feet.

Tail whipping behind him, Ranma ignored her as he flexed his hands. A smirk played across his face as he rushed forward. When he was just a few feet in front of the purple-haired girl, he activated his transformation and turned into his cat form. Running between her legs, he transformed back and gave her a couple of scratches before kicking her to the ground. /The same can be said for my cat-form, brat-nya./

/That was no fair!/ Xian Pu shouted as she stood up and glared at her opponent. /Since when were you able to transform quickly like that?/ Usually it took a few moments before the pony-tailed boy could shift between forms, but that… that took just a couple of seconds. /You shouldn't be able to do that in a fight!/

Ranma stuck his tongue out. /In a fight, any advantage should be used. Turning into a cat can be my advantage. You're just whiny because you can't do it, brat./ The smirk on his face only made Xian Pu even more red in the face as said girl stalked up to the boy. When they were a few inches apart, they proceeded to glare at each other. After a moment, the Amazon brought her hand up and flicked her rival on the nose. /Hey!/ The young Saotome shouted as he gave the girl a small slap upside the top of her head. Glaring at each other some more, the two leapt back and got into their ready stances.

Their fight was interrupted by a loud noise not too far from where they were. Deciding to -- reluctantly -- cut it short, both six-year-olds turned and raced for the area where the noise had come from. After they arrived at the scene, both martial artists had to blink at what they were seeing. /What… is that thing?/ Ranma asked as he looked upon the creature that was causing problems. The thing was about three feet tall with claws that where half the size of its own body. It was also floating in mid-air with its golden eyes scanning the area as its elf-like ears twitched at any sound. The thing looked towards him and Xian Pu and bared its sharp teeth. Rushing forward, he proceeded to try and swipe at the two, but Ranma jumped and pushed the purple-haired girl out of the way. Looking at the marks that the thing's large claws created in the ground, the cat-boy figured it would be a good idea to transform. "Mau Planet Power, Henshin-nya!"

One quick transformation later and Ranma was standing in front of the creature as several Amazons arrived to watch and see just how good the boy was. Deciding it was best to not waste words, the Senshi of Mau jumped forward and slashed at the monster with a claw. The attack was blocked by the creature's own large hand as it proceeded to try and grab Ranma with its other hand. Leaping over it, the pony-tailed boy landed on the hand and ran up its arm. Leaping over the other hand that tried to knock him off, Ranma came down with a kick to the thing's head and knocked it back.

Expecting it to charge at him, the Senshi of Mau was surprised -- as well as annoyed -- when the monster taunted him by sticking its tongue out and running away. "Hey, get back here and fight!" He shouted as he ran after the thing as it knocked people over and made its way out of the village. Ranma didn't know where it was going, but he knew that he had to do something so it wouldn't come back to try and truly harm people. After a few minutes of running and being taunted, the six-year-old finally got fed up. Raising his gloved hand, he proceeded to cast an attack. "Mao Yarn-Ball!" The yarn-ball shaped energy appeared in his hand. After tossing it, he gave a shout of 'entangle'. The raven-haired cat-boy was happy when the attack managed to hit.

Pointing a hand towards it, he gave a shout of 'explosion'. The wrappings of the yarn-ball attack glowed vividly a second before the explosion happened. When the dust cleared, it revealed the monster to be fully charred. "Well that was kind of simple-nya." Ranma stated to himself. As soon as he said that, he found himself on the receiving end of an attack to the back. Picking himself up, he turned around and sweat-dropped. "I shouldn't have said that." Cursing to himself, he jumped another attack and looked around. From what he could see, there were about 15 different monsters of various shapes and sizes. Apparently, the one that he chased led him into an ambush of some kind.

With a nervous chuckle, Ranma raised a hand. "Um… hi?" After that was uttered, the cat-boy had to dodge several attacks of claws, magic, bites, scratches, and various other things. "Ok, that's it-nya!" Raising his hands, he charged towards the closest ones. "Cat-Scratch Frenzy!" He shouted, and he proceeded to become almost a blur as he scratched the things from various angles by use of his hands and feet. He didn't get to finish his attack due to one of the other monsters managing a solid hit upside his head that knocked him a few feet away. The three that he did manage to attack were all scratched up and about ready to fall, but they managed to stand. "Dang it, I should have switched to my girl form." Ranma grumbled out as he thought about how his magic was stronger in that form. 'Maybe carrying hot and cold water would be a good thing.' He thought as he dodged a few attacks and tossed a few of his own yarn-balls to tangle up a few and blow them up.

He soon found himself knocked into a tree via a sneak attack from behind. Shaking the dizzy feeling out of his head, Ranma jumped and pushed himself off of the tree to dodge a large claw. Looking around, he found himself to still be outnumbered. 'I'm not going to give up.' The cat-boy thought with narrowed eyes and a smile. For some reason, the thought of it being outnumbered was fun. "Cat-Scratch--"

A loud roar interrupted the boy as something charged through the remaining monsters and started decimating them. When Ranma could see what was attacking the creatures, his eyes widened. The thing attacking was a five-foot tall bipedal bull with crane wings and an eel-like tail. 'What in the heck?' Was all the cat-boy could think as he watched the muscular creature punch, stab with his horns, bite, claw, and virtually destroy each of the creatures that were giving Ranma problems. When it was all done, the bull monster glanced towards the boy and gave a snort. "Um… thanks?" Ranma asked hesitantly with a raised hand. His answer from the creature was a fist upside the head before it flew off to into the sky and away from the area. "Ow-nya…" The Senshi of Mau stated as he rubbed the side of his head. "Just what the heck was that for?!"

Obtaining no answer at all, the pony-tailed Senshi got up and walked back towards the village. As he walked, he complained about 'idiot bulls' and 'pounding them into the ground the next time they met'. 'At least he helped me, but there was no reason to hit me and run off!' That was his only thought as he continued on his way towards the Joketsuzoku.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

/You mean you're actually going to teach Miki and me some Amazon techniques?!/ Ranma asked in complete shock, surprise, excitement, and glee. After he had returned from that ambush, Khu Lon had pulled the young cat-boy -- along with his friend -- aside and proceeded to lay down a few things. /When can be do it, Elder Khu Lon? Can we do it now? Huh, can we? Can-- OW!/ The Saotome child shouted as he rubbed his head after being whacked upside the head by the elder's cane. Xian Pu gave a small snicker at what had just happened-- until she too was supporting a bump of her own. Miki remained quiet so that she wouldn't find herself with a bump of her own. Mu Tsu was off somewhere arguing with various inanimate objects.

/Do not interrupt an elder when they are explaining things, child./ The diminutive woman stated with a small glare. /As I was saying, I have decided that it would be a good time to teach you _**THREE**_,/ she pointed to Xian Pu/In some of the more advanced Amazon techniques. I can only teach you a few things at the moment due to you all being so young, but I believe you are capable of handling those few things./ The gray-haired woman pointed her staff towards Ranma. /Another thing is that you, Ranma, will have to be in your girl form for this. Also, you and Miki will have to swear that you _**WILL NOT**_, under any circumstance, teach Joketsuzoku martial arts and skills to anybody outside of the Amazons. The only way I'll be able to teach you is that if you swear to that and become honorary Amazons./

The young Saotome child tipped his head. He didn't see any problem with having to be in female form, and he understood the part about not letting the secrets get out to those who should not know. Coming to his decision, he began nodding his head vigorously. /I swear that I won't give out the secrets, Elder Khu Lon-nya!/ He announced with a fist in the air and an excitable look upon his face as his tail swished around excitedly. Turning around, he ran to an outdoor faucet and splashed himself before returning. Anybody looking at the newly transformed cat-girl could see a wide-eyed look of happiness that was due to the idea of learning new techniques and skills.

Miki merely gave a small nod. /I swear that I won't inform non-Amazons of what I am to learn either-nya!/ Both cat-girls stood and watched as the aged matriarch studied them intently for several moments before giving a nod

/I believe that we can now begin training. The first on the list is something that Xian Pu has been wanting to learn for a long time./ Said girl's eyes became wide in excitement. /You three shall be learning the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken, and you will also be working on light meditation to get a feel for your inner energies./ Noticing the questioning look on the two cat-girl's faces at the name of the technique, Khu Lon motioned the three of them to come with her. It wasn't too long before they came to a clearing with what looked like the materials that would be used for a small fire. Lighting the fire, Khu Lon brought out a handful of chestnuts and tossed them into the roaring flame. /Now Ranma, Miki, watch as I demonstrate why this skill is also known as Chestnuts Roasting Over an Open Fire./ Taking a small breath, the old woman tossed her hand into the fire and pulled out a couple chestnuts. The motion was quicker than anyone could see, and her hand held no injury from the fire. /The purpose of this is to become quick enough so that the fire can't touch you./

/Hey, that reminds me a little of my Cat-Scratch Frenzy attack as Sailor Mau./ Three pairs of eyes glanced in her direction at the wide-eyed redhead. Said redhead seemed to be getting even more excited. /I'll be able to do something similar when not changed-nya!/ Maybe she could even combine her claws with the skill for extra damage. /When do we start, Elder Khu Lon?!/

The matriarch pointed her gnarled staff towards Xian Pu. /Xian Pu will start attempting to learn this skill first. You and Miki will work on meditation in order to prepare your mind and bodies./ Xian Pu gave a victorious smirk towards her frowning rival. /Now, you two go over there and start meditating./ The silver-haired woman whacked Ranma upside the head to stop her from grumbling about 'old ladies and favoritism to great-granddaughters'.

Reaching the spot where they were told to go, Ranma and Miki sat down on the ground and crossed their legs. They proceeded to close their eyes and attempt to control their breathing as their tails gave a random twitch every once in a while. To someone sparing just a quick glance, they would assume that the two were calm and steady. On a closer look, however, one could see that both of them were restless as their eyebrows twitched quickly. /Why can't I do the Kachu thingie-nya?!/ Ranma finally screeched out in annoyance with her fists raised in the air. The answer to this came when a small rock impacted against the side of her head.

/Meditating will help you regulate your body's energies and allow you to think clearly, child./ Khu Lon simply stated. /Xian Pu has already learned how to properly meditate. With constant meditation, you would be able to use the energies within your body easier. So sit down, close your eyes, empty your mind, and go with the flow./ The elder finished before going back to check on Xian Pu. /And no gloating from you, Xian Pu. If I hear any more, you'll have to punch a tree 1,000 times!/ There was a faint 'yes great-grandmother' from the purple-haired girl.

Ranma and Miki glanced at each other and -- with their eyes -- silently communicated how boring it was. With a final sigh, they closed their eyes and attempted to clear their mind and 'find their center'. After much trial and error, the redheaded cat-girl found herself calmed as her mind cleared of the world around her. Ranma had no clue what to do next, and so she just sat there and stayed as she was.

"_Going somewhere, Sailor Mau?" _A dream-like purring voice seemed to echo throughout her mind. All of a sudden, a vision of ruined buildings, fires, corpses, and several other things filtered into her mind. These, also, were completely dream-like. The view changed to center on a woman dressed in a form-fitting fuku that seemed to be made of rubber with a line of bells on the front of her outfit. This same woman's tail seemed to be waving happily behind her as a catty grin was plastered onto her face.

Ranma found herself talking to the woman, and she could hear some thoughts running through her own head. _'Nyanko'_ and _'Sailor Galaxia'_ filtered through 'her' head as 'she' ran through the demolished city and buildings. The thought of 'getting away to find help' raged through 'her' mind.

_/Ranma/_

Despair at not being able to find a teleportation crystal, relief at finding one still intact, and then the horror of finding herself attacked and near death…

/_**RANMA!**_/

Azure eyes snapped open and stared into the twin azure eyes of Miki. The pink-haired girl was looking on in both curiosity and worry. Turning her head, Ranma also saw that Khu Lon and Xian Pu -- massaging her burnt hands -- were studying her in curiosity as well. /What's wrong-nya?/

/You were talking to yourself like a crazy person./ Xian Pu provided with a smirk. /At least we now know that you're crazy-- ow!/ She shouted as a staff whacked her upside the head.

Khu Lon took that moment to start talking. /You were shouting about odd things such as 'Galaxia', 'Nyanko', 'Getting Away', and other such nonsense./

/I was seeing things./ The redheaded cat-girl simply stated to the blinking eyes of those around her. In fact, she remembered 'seeing things' a couple times before. That time with the Gambler King was a good example. /I think they are memories of the one who turned me into Sailor Mau. I think it was right before she died. There was fire, dead bodies, and other things./ Ranma shivered at recalling those images in her head. It was disturbing and gruesome, and that woman named Nyanko caused a feeling of anger for form within her. /What could this mean, Elder Khu Lon-nya?/ She asked as she held her tail in her hands for comfort.

The elder's eyes closed as she began stroking her chin. /I think that what it means is that you have access to the memories of the one who gave you your powers. They must be buried deep within your mind, and meditating can help you get a hold of these fleeting images. Perhaps this memory that you just witnessed will help you prepare for if you ever come across the person in your vision, and maybe this so-called Sailor Galaxia./ Her aged eyes watched as the redhead shivered as she fiddled around with her tail. The vision must have been disturbing to watch. /Perhaps other memories will come to you if you meditate. I think it might be a good idea to work on meditating. You might come across helpful bits of information that you could put to use./ Ranma seemed to show a slight reluctance at the thought. /I believe that it is now time for you to try and learn the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken, Ranma./

The redheaded cat-girl's face instantly lit up as she leapt to her feet. /Yeah! This won't take long. I'll learn it in just a few days-nya!/ She shouted as she ran for the fire. A moment later, a shout of 'hot' could be heard.

A cackle managed to escape from Khu Lon's mouth. /Well, she certainly is excitable when it comes to martial arts./ The two six-year-olds could only nod as they watched Ranma vigorously stick her hand into the fire before dancing around in pain and sticking her hand into a bucket of water. /Watch out, Xian Pu, I think she might actually learn it before you./

/Like heck she will!/ The purple-haired child shouted with a frown upon her face. /I will not have myself be outdone by her!/

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that night -- with hands fully bandaged to heal, -- Ranma sat down in a meditative stance. She decided that maybe doing what Khu Lon said to do would be a good idea. Learning a little more about the one she was replacing would require at least a little knowledge of the person and the experiences that they had. 'I just hope I won't have to worry about something like I saw earlier.' Tossing the thought away, she proceeded to cross her legs, close her eyes, and attempt to empty her mind. It was still a hard thing to do, but she finally managed to do it after several minutes of trying. There she sat in complete silence. After several more moments, she was about to give up when images began to play in her mind.

"_You are so cool, Sailor Mau!"_ A childish voice rang out. The vision focused on a young child that appeared to be around eight-years-old with golden-colored eyes, raven-colored hair and tail, and several golden bells on her clothing. _"It must be so cool to be a Sailor Senshi. I wish I could be one!"_

Ranma found 'herself' giving off a small giggle as a gloved hand reached out to pat the young girl on the head. _"Maybe you will someday, Nyanko. There's no telling when the powers of a Senshi will be born to a person."_ The face of the young girl scrunched up into a pout.

"_I know that I'll never take your job, though. Senshi live so long, and you're still young and strong even though you are over 900-years-old!" _The pout turned into a smirk as the young Nyanko crossed her arms. _"I'll become a Senshi someday, though. I'll become one, and then I'll be better than you. I'll become the best there is, and nothing will stop me from it!"_

"_Nyanko, being 'the best' and 'greater than me' are not things you should strive for. You should strive for protecting people and doing what's right."_ It was almost as if she could feel 'herself' smiling brightly. _"Now, I need to go do a little training. I've been trying to learn how to fire energy claws from my own hand with my own ki, and not magic. I can't get it right!" _She announced with a grumble as she started walking off.

Nyanko gave a vigorous wave. _"I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out, Sailor Mau. By the way, can you come over for dinner tonight again? I asked my parents to see if it was alright if I could ask and they said it was ok." _There was a strong look of hope that turned into a victorious shout as Sailor Mau nodded her head. The young raven-haired cat-girl ran up and gave a hug to the Senshi. _"From now on, you shall be my older sister! You hear me, Mau-neechan?"_

Mau gave off a giggle. _"I guess this is what I get for hanging around you since you were a baby." _A catty grin was the answer from the eight-year-old. _"Alright, Nyanko-imouto, I'll be your older sister. Now, go home before your parents start to wonder where you were." _Sailor Mau leaned down and gave the young Nyanko a small kiss on the forehead.

"_YAY, SISTERS FOREVER!!" _The young girl shouted as she jumped up and down before she skipped off. Before moving out of view, Nyanko turned around and waved. _"Someday I'll become a Sailor Senshi like you. Then we can fight evil side-by-side. Someday both of us will protect this planet together." _She then turned around and vanished from view. The vision also proceeded to vanish from view as Sailor Mau turned around and started to walk off.

Ranma's eyes snapped open as she fell backwards. Lying there, her mind started to go into overdrive. 'Sailor Mau and Nyanko used to be as close as sisters?' The idea was hard to believe. If they were that close, then why did Nyanko turn against Mau and do all those horrible things? Two people who were almost like sisters, and then one of them turns around and tries to kill the other and everyone else on the planet. 'How can someone do such a bad thing and not feel terrible for it?' The redheaded cat-girl felt a couple of tears fall from her eyes from thinking about both visions. Ranma wondered what could have ever happened as she slipped under the covers of a futon and closed her eyes to sleep.

'There has to be some reason.' Was her last thought before drifting off to sleep.

xxA.Nxx

The chapter is finally finished.

Now, should Nodoka attempt to make a trip to the Amazon village, or should she and Ranma just communicate through letters until Genma manages to get out and kidnap Ranma and Miki from the Amazon Village?


	7. Can You Say Mew Mew? I Knew You Could

A Surviving Mau

Ranma ½, Sailor Moon, and any other series used in this fanfic are owned by their respectful owners. I do not own anything about them at all.

Thanks to CyberSkaarj and the people of Fukufics for pre-reading.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

/Chinese/

Chapter 7

The loud sound of clacking wood was common within the walls of the Joketsuzoku Village. For the warriors of the village, it was the unmistakable sound of two people fighting with wooden staves. True to the norm, there were two fighters partaking in this form of sparring through the use of miniature Bo Staves. Various villagers halted in their daily routines to watch the obviously inexperienced duo, waving the long sticks around clumsily. In fact, there were times where they would accidentally hit themselves or become unbalanced due to a very bad swing. It was even harder for the two because they were fighting upon a log suspended above the ground.

The two fighters were easily identifiable to the crowd as Ranma and Shampoo. Their experience of fighting with a staff was small at best. This was because they had started using the staves just a couple of weeks ago, and their lack of experience showed. They -- along with Miki -- had trouble keeping their balance on the log, and the frequent over-extending of their weapons only made it harder. Ranma and Miki had an easier time with balance than Shampoo because of the ability to use their tails.

The three guests, Ranma, Miki, and Genma, had been living within the walls of the Joketsuzoku Village for almost two years. Genma spent most of the time in either confinement or watched closely by some Amazons who were in charge of making sure he didn't do anything stupid. The time they spent with the Amazons was well spent as they grew accustomed to a few small changes.

Miki's newfound Mau structure, which was thought to come about due to the shared dunking both Ranma and she had when they fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl, was progressing splendidly. Hot water only turned her back into a kitten if she soaked in it for too long, and she could now transform into her former birth form by thought. Miki still retained her energetic and curious personality, but she had also learned how to control it if the situation called for one to be serious. Her martial arts ability was well below both Ranma and Shampoo, but that was because she had no prior martial arts knowledge, except for Ranma trying to teach her when she was a kitten. She could hold her own in simple fights, though.

Ranma, who turned eight-years-old after spending almost two years in the village, had a greater deal of improvement in his martial arts ability. He still had trouble using the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken due to how young he was, but he could manage between 50 and 65 punches. It wasn't much when compared to the fact that many of the older fighters could do hundreds of punches, but it was fast enough to grab the chestnuts out of the fire without getting burnt.

In Sailor Mau form while male, Ranma found his abilities gradually increasing. He may have only been able to develop one or two new attacks, but he had discovered that he could modify and improve the ones he already had. While female, Ranma had a larger increase in abilities as a Senshi than in male form. His female form also had a technique or two that he couldn't perform while male. The cat-boy felt a little miffed that his two forms were so different from each other. It wasn't all bad; he seemed to have more physical strength and could withstand more damage as a male Senshi, while his female Senshi form was much faster, had a higher magic reserve, more special abilities, and her magic attacks were significantly more powerful.

Speaking of magic, Ranma had managed to learn a few ways to put the raw magic that he could channel to use. He wasn't able to do too much with it. One thing he could with his raw magic was to create hot and cold air. It wasn't powerful, but if he needed to dry his clothes or quickly cool something, it would do the job. The cat-boy had also learned that from channeling the raw magic, he could also use it to heal. This came about when he accidentally healed a cut on Miki's arm. When it happened, Ranma was molding some magic into his hands, and he forgot to stop it when he touched his friend on her arm. After that moment, Cologne decided to have Ranma check out the extent of it. With just a little molding, small cuts could be healed, but if he poured out a greater amount of healing magic, then he would be able to heal a greater variety of injuries and health issues. This only marked a few possibilities that he could accomplish with the raw magic. He had access to more magic in female form, but it was harder to control and led to Ranma feeling exhausted.

Using this raw magic didn't come without a price, however. Ranma still found out that no matter how many times he tried, he would always end up changing into cat form whenever he used too much. He would then be stuck in said form until he recovered, which was usually three to five days. The odd thing about it was that the backlash of using too much magic while using Senshi attacks didn't seem to cause the same issue. Cologne and a few of the elders theorized a possibility that the raw magic he possessed wasn't meant to be used excessively in its 'unrefined' form, and that it put too much strain on the body. This, in turn, was the cause for his transformation into his cat form -- to rest from the strain and magic exhaustion.

"Ha!" Shampoo shouted as she capitalized on an opening her opponent had revealed. The wide arc swing that she used made contact and started to throw Ranma off balance. Acting on an impulse, the cat-boy grabbed the staff as he fell off the log. This in turn caused his adversary to be pulled off with him. Both children landed on the ground in a heap. Letting out an annoyed growl, Shampoo vented her frustration by slapping Ranma on the back of his head. /I thank you for pulling me off, flea-fur!/

/You're the one who held onto the staff, Xian-Pu!/ Ranma argued back as he pushed the girl off of him and stood up. /And will you stop calling me flea-fur?! It only happened _**ONCE**_./ A small blush accompanied that statement. It was about seven months ago when a few fleas attempted to make a home out of Ranma when he was in cat form. It took a week to get rid of them all, and even then he had to wear a flea collar for about a month just to make sure. It was completely embarrassing, and something that Shampoo decided to never let him forget. It was still a mystery as to why Miki never suffered the infestation.

/Once, yes, but you'll always be Flea-Fur to me./ The Amazon 'eeped' and ducked under the attack that Ranma directed at her. /Maybe you should start wearing that collar again. We don't want you to get anymore flea-- OW!/ Shampoo yelped as she nursed the lump on her head that Ranma had given to her via a fist.

/Mocking someone who can kill large and ferocious monsters isn't a good thing, eggplant-head./ Ranma quipped back with his arms crossed as he used one of his own nicknames for the purple-haired girl. His quips about the color of her hair and the shape of her buns annoyed her, and it was an even greater insult whenever Ranma called her 'Mouse Ears' due to one time when Shampoo had tied up her hair buns wrong.

Shampoo gave off an undignified snort of amusement. /There haven't been any monster attacks for several months, Fur-ball. How do we know that you still have what it takes?/ The usual sparring match between the two gradually degenerated into a glaring match as each tried to outdo and cause the other to 'cower under their might'. If anybody were to walk up close to the two, they would have noticed an incredible fluctuation of temperature around them.

Off to the side, Miki gave off a deep sigh as she watched her two friends get under each other's skin for millionth time or so. She wasn't really _**SURE**_ how many times it was, but was certain that it seemed like a million. As the pink-haired former cat sat there with her tail swishing behind her, she wished that Mousse could have been there with the trio instead of having to spend the day helping his parents and learning a few more styles to the Hidden Weapons art. "Hurry up and finish sparring, Ranma. I want to go do something fun-nya!" Miki whined softly to herself as she glanced around before frowning at the sight of a certain panda attempting to spy on the scene. 'We could also get away from the fat panda too.' The cat-girl thought to herself in disgust as the panda in question continued to watch from his position.

Genma -- who many Amazons of the Joketsuzoku had taken to calling the 'Stupid Panda'-- had made several attempts to escape the village with his son and, reluctantly, Miki. Every attempt at escaping had been stopped by an Amazon, and a battered and bruised Genma would end up having to go back to the drawing board to plan an escape all over again. One thing that he definitely knew was a big 'no-no' was grabbing the tail of either his son or Miki to escape. For some reason, the two of them turned downright hostile whenever someone grabbed their tails. They had never used to, and that was why Genma had made that very mistake during one of his attempts. At the time, he was in so much of a hurry that he merely grabbed the first appendage he could find and pulled. The next thing he knew was a world of pain where almost his entire body ended up covered in deep scratches and bites. Even his gi, bandana, glasses, and what little hair he had left on his head was shredded to hell. Since that incident, Genma made sure that he never grabbed the young cat-children by their tails again.

Genma's biggest reason for trying so hard to escape with Ranma seemed to be due to Nodoka learning of Ranma's curse. It also didn't help that his son and wife would send letters to each other. The older Saotome was certain that Nodoka was just trying to lead them into a false sense of security until she got her hands on them. Once that happened, they'd experience the wonders of watching their intestines fall out of their body right before their heads were cut off. Genma didn't want that, and decided that the best way to prevent it was to keep out of contact with his wife so that she didn't lull his son into the thing called 'motherly love' that she already seemed to be doing. Genma's only thread of safety that he held to was the fact that Nodoka lacked the proper funds to travel to Joketsuzoku. Yes, except for the contact through letters, he was safe from his wife.

Also, unlike what most of the people around the area though of him, Genma wasn't stupid. Slightly ignorant, lazy, and greedy maybe, but stupid he was not. Genma managed to catch on to the fact that his own son had some odd transformation that seemed to increase his abilities, and he also noticed that his son's female form seemed to have a greater ability than Ranma's male form. The very thought of it perturbed the older Saotome greatly. Ranma's female form was better than his male form, he didn't care if he was in female form longer than his natural form, he would often train in said form, and he was in a village where the population had more females than males.

Those issues put together were enough grounds for Genma to worry about both his own head and the future of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. Sure, Ranma could continue to train and be an heir of the school if he was female, but there were certain… reasons for his son to not get too used to this female problem of his. Those were the reasons why Genma felt he should grab Ranma and flee. He felt that he had to undo the damages and show Ranma that his female side was exactly what it was supposed to be: a curse that should be hated and loathed. 'Don't worry boy, I'll set your mind back on track when I get you away from here and those elderly hags trying to influence you!' The pandafied man thought with a look of determination in his eyes.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

/You didn't have to hit us on the heads, Miki./ Ranma pouted as Shampoo, Miki, and he walked away from the practice log. /It hurt-nya./ He finished as he rubbed the spot where he was hit. Next to him, Shampoo was also rubbing her head and grumbling about 'violent cat-people'.

/I'm sorry, Ranma./ Miki answered back as she tapped her index fingers together. /It was the only way I could get you to stop after 10 minutes. When you two start fighting, you don't stop./ The pink-haired cat-girl's demeanor suddenly changed as she tossed her arms around the other two's necks and smiled wide with sparkling eyes. /C'mon! Let's go play! I know, let's go see if we can sneak up on some birds, or chase some mice out of the village-nya!/

Shampoo's right eye began to twitch as she moved Miki's arm from her shoulder. /Ugh-- quit trying to get me to join your catty games. I'm not a cat, and even if I was, I wouldn't do anything so stupid as to chase birds or mice. I'm a proud Amazon warrior and granddaughter of a Joketsuzoku matriarch. I can not be-- GYAH!!/ The purple-haired eight-year-old almost seemed to jump two meters in the air as she leapt away from the duo. Said duo was currently on the ground laughing their tails off. /Shut up-- it's not funny! Licking someone on both cheeks isn't human!/ Her cheeks began to turn red when she noticed that she was gaining a few stares from the people around her. Wiping her cheeks, Shampoo turned a glare towards her two companions and noticed that they were still laughing, but they weren't on the ground. Instead, they were standing with their tails in the usual position: around their waists like belts. /You two aren't human, you know that?/

/Alright, settle down, that'll be enough for now, child. I don't really think that you should say something like that./ An aged voice commented from behind Shampoo. The young Amazon turned around to see her great-grandmother. The elder was staring at her with a look that made the young Amazon shiver.

/B-- but great-grandmother, they licked me on my cheeks, and it was so gross!/

/I'm sure that it was all in harmless fun, Xian Pu./ At this, Shampoo huffed and crossed her arms. This action earned her a tap on the head from Cologne's staff. /There'll be none of that in front of me, young lady./ The matriarch received an apologetic look from great-granddaughter. /Sometimes one would think that you might just be a little jealous that you lack any cat ears or tail./

Shampoo's eyes widened as her face turned slightly pale. /Great-grandmother, how could you ever think of something like that?/

/Just an observation, dear./ Cologne responded with a smirk before turning her attention towards Ranma. /Ranma, I'd like to speak with you for a moment./

Ranma had a curious look as he walked up to the diminutive woman. /Is there something wrong, Elder Khu Lon?/ He asked as he watched the matriarch rummage through one of the pockets in her robes.

/Well, first of all,/ Cologne began as she pulled a few chestnuts out of her pocket/let's get rid of the nosy fool that's trying to listen in./ With a quick flick of her wrist, the Joketsuzoku matriarch sent the chestnuts flying off to the side. The nuts hit their target: Genma Saotome's head. Normally, someone tossing a few chestnuts wouldn't prove a problem. However, since the one tossing these was a martial artist with over 100 years of training and experience, there was enough power behind those nuts to send a large panda flying backwards. As soon as Genma was on his back, a group of Amazons appeared and picked him up. /Take this oaf to his cell on the grounds of attempting to listen in on secret information!/

/Wish I could do something like that./ Ranma mumbled do himself as he watched the spot that his father was being pulled from. That kind of skill would probably be useful later on, and Ranma was intent on learning how.

/Now then,/ Ranma was snapped out of his thoughts by Cologne's voice/back to what I wanted to talk to you about, Ranma./ Reaching into her robes, the elder pulled out a slightly crumpled letter. /I actually received this letter a couple of days ago, but had to think and converse with the other elders about it. It is from your mother in regards to your last letter./

/What did she say?! Can she come and visit?!/ Ranma asked excitedly as his cat-ears popped out. Since first writing to her two years ago, Ranma and Nodoka had sent letters back and forth to each other. It was quite obvious that at first, Nodoka was a little reluctant due to the curse and possibly having to kill her own son. Hell, Cologne still wasn't sure if the Saotome Matriarch had tossed the idea out of her mind or not. They did seem to both enjoy being in contact though, and Nodoka seemed to have taken a liking to Miki as well. The reason for Ranma asking the question that he did was because of his last letter. In the letter, he asked again if his mother could visit.

When Cologne shook her head in a negative fashion, Ranma calmed down as his ears fell forward in disappointment. Miki reached over and gave him a pat on the shoulder. /She stated that she'd _**LIKE**_ to come, but she wouldn't be able to afford a trip./

If possible, Ranma's ears drooped further. He might have only had a basic understanding of monetary value, but even he knew that if someone couldn't afford something, then it must cost a lot. /And I was hoping to see her again-nya./

Cologne raised an aged eyebrow. /And who said you couldn't?/ The question caused the trio to look at her oddly.

/But great-grandmother, I thought you said that Ranma's mother wouldn't be able to come. You haven't gone old in the head, have you, great-grandmother?/ The comment earned Shampoo a whack upside her head.

/My mind is still young and strong, thank you./ Cologne stated quickly before returning to the subject at hand. /As I stated a few moments ago, Ranma, I talked with the other elders before coming to you. The reason is that -- even though I am a wise matriarch of the Joketsuzoku -- I still needed to obtain the authorization to leave the village and travel somewhere else./ Cologne still noticed three looks of confusion on the faces of the children in front of her. Remembering that she was in the now in the presence of young children and not aged mummies, the diminutive woman gave off a sigh. /Basically, I obtained the permission to take you three and travel to Japan. The official reason that was reached was that getting out in the outside world would allow Xian Pu to grow a little better as an Amazon heir. Having a suitable rival is also key to growing./

/But great-grandmother, who is my rival?/ Shampoo asked with a hint of curiosity. /You can't possibly mean Ranma, can you?/ She added with a quirked eyebrow and a thumb-point towards the raven-haired cat-boy.

/Hey, I can kick your butt, and you know it-nya!/ Ranma responded with a small growl.

Ignoring the quips the two made at each other, Cologne continued. /This trip will be both a learning experience for Xian Pu, and a chance to meet your mother, Ranma. Miki will also be able to meet her as well./ The matriarch was treated to the sight of an eight-year-old cat-boy jumping up and down in joy. 'Ah, what it would be like to be young and impressionable again.' Cologne thought with a slightly wistful look in her eyes.

/Elder Khu Lon,/ Miki suddenly stated with a look of curiosity/isn't Mu Tsu going with us as well-nya?/

/I'm afraid not./

/Why not?!/ All three children asked in disappointment. /Why the heck is he being left out of this?/ Ranma added with a frown.

/His parents refused to let him to leave on such a long trip. They are mostly worried that his eyesight will get him into some sort of trouble. However, they also said that they _**might**_ change their mind later on./

/That's stupid./ Shampoo grumbled out. /Hopefully they will change their minds later and bring him./

There was a long moment of silence until Ranma finally broke it. /So when are we going?/ The thought of getting back to traveling and actually being able to meet his mother again was giving him an overjoyed feeling.

/We'll be leaving in a little while, after you three get ready and a couple of others join us. We will also have to make another stop for some herbal supplies on the way. I'm out of certain herbs and need to restock./

Ranma and Miki shared a quick glance before the pink-haired cat-girl raised her hand a little. /Um, does that mean that we are going to make a trip to Yaokaicun?/

/Yes, we are going to be traveling to the herbalist village of Yaokaicun./ Cologne answered with a short nod before turning around and leaping off to get ready for the trip.

Both cat-children glanced towards Shampoo to see an evil smile spread across her face at the prospect of visiting the neighboring Amazon village. /Hopefully Pin Ke and Lin Ke won't show up this time./ Ranma whispered to Miki. His friend gave a quick nod in hope. However, no matter what happened, Shampoo always seemed to find the two and trash them before Ranma and Miki could pull her away.

/We could always try to tie her up-nya./ Miki suggested with her head tilted a little. The idea caused Ranma to smirk. Maybe Cologne would allow them to tie her great-granddaughter up so there wouldn't be the usual problem.

/That might work. C'mon, let's go get some rope in case we will need it./ Ranma answered back as the two cat-children left to find some rope. /But what's the worse that could happen? Pin Ke and Lin Ke swearing to kill Xian Pu later on in some weird revenge thing because of issues when they were all kids?/

/That's a weird and funny thought, Ranma./ Miki giggled. Just what kind of person would actually do something like that?

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A village that was situated not too far from Joketsuzoku, Yaokaicun was also a village of Amazons. However, unlike the village of Joketsuzoku, the people of Yaokaicun were mostly herbalists, and the village supplied many surrounding villages with herbs and other plants that were only grown within the area. One would think that the village would be helpless without the warriors that its sister village houses. However, it was far from defenseless. Over the thousands of years that it had been around, the villagers had learnt how to extract and create a wide array of poisons and cures from the various forms of flora that grow around the area. In fact, even the Joketsuzoku and other warrior tribes were reluctant to fight against a place that could kill your entire army with a well-placed narcotic dust in the wind, or a special ingredient inserted into the water and food supply. It was for this reason that Yaokaicun was considered a sort of neutral ground. Of course, that doesn't exactly extend to the children. In many instances, due to having extensive knowledge of herbs obtained from their parents and living in the village, visitors would often find themselves in danger of childish pranks that usually caused them to become poisoned.

/I really hate water sometimes./ Ranma complained as she used a minor amount of raw magic in her hand to heat up and dry her clothing. The changing of forms didn't bug her, but the issue with being a water magnet did. /I want to know why Miki doesn't get wet as much as I do-nya!/

/It does hit me, but not much because I'm already in my 'curse' form, and it takes almost half an hour for hot water to change me back into a kitten now./ The pink-haired cat-girl then playfully stuck out her tongue. /I got the better deal!/ Miki sang happily. She soon found herself sitting in a muddy puddle. /Hey, that wasn't nice-nya!/

/I didn't do a thing./ Ranma replied while trying to repress a smirk. /You just tripped over your own feet-- ack!/ Ranma also ended up falling into the puddle - face first. Sputtering, she turned her head and glared at an innocent-looking Shampoo.

/Oh no,/ Shampoo exclaimed in mock horror with a hand to her cheek/you two are so messy. Now it looks like you'll have to go and lick yourselves clean./ The purple-haired Amazon soon broke out in a giggle-fit as her two friends sat within the puddle and glared right at her. However, she failed to notice the looks Ranma and Miki gave each other. When she did notice, it was too late. /Wait-- no-- stop! Great-grandmother, make them stop!/

/I am sorry, great-granddaughter, but this is a valuable life lesson that you must participate in./ Cologne responded as Shampoo was pushed into the puddle. Turning to the two Amazons traveling with them, Cologne commanded them to follow her, since it seemed the trio could handle themselves just fine.

/It must be Pick on Me day today or something./ Shampoo grumbled as she tried to get the dirt out of her hair. /My clothes are all muddy too!/ The purple-haired Amazon glanced in the direction of her two companions. Miki only had a couple spots of mud on her because she had landed on her ass. Ranma, who should have been the muddiest due to falling face-first into the muddy puddle, only had some mud on her clothing. The reason for the oddity was quite simple: she transformed into Senshi form. Ranma had discovered by accident that transforming into Senshi form automatically cleaned her of dirt on both her skin and her hair. It didn't always work in reverse when she was dirty in Senshi form and de-transformed, though. /That's really unfair./

Ranma just gave Shampoo a shrug before yawning. /I'm bored./ The red-headed cat-girl stated after a few moments. Her tail swished behind her as her ears twitched in an attempt to listen to the area around them. /C'mon, let's spar!/ Ranma would rather be training at the moment anyway than doing nothing. She wanted to increase how many punches she could manage with the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken, practice her balance, and partake of various other training methods.

Before Shampoo or Miki could respond, a couple voices were heard coming towards their direction. /Lin Ke, what kind of mushrooms did mom tell us to get, over?/

/Huagu, Pin Ke. Mom said that this is one of the few times a year that huagu grow in this area, over./ The other voice responded as the two came closer. Ranma and Miki quickly glanced at each other before turning their attention to Shampoo. The evil grin that she had earlier was back, and she was even punching her hand. The trio slowly turned around and watched as Pink and Link walked into view. The twins were both wearing their usual plain cloaks, and they had white hair ornaments on each side of their heads. The only difference was that Link had blue, small spots on her ornaments while Pink had red, larger spots on hers. /We should try and find them so we can hurry and get… back…/ Link trailed off when she caught sight of Shampoo.

/Lin Ke, what's wrong? Why are you-- Xian Pu!/ The more assertive of the two growled out with a hint of worry. Her twin sister slowly backed up and hid behind her at the sight of the girl who seemed to only live for beating their asses into the ground every time she visited. /Leave us alone this time, okay? We are just trying to gather mushrooms for our mom, over./

/I don't know. I think you two still haven't been punished enough./ Shampoo stated as she started stalking towards the twins. She didn't get very far before Ranma and Miki jumped her with some rope in their hands and attempted to restrain the Amazon so that she couldn't lay her hands on Pink and Link. They only managed to tie her arms before Shampoo was able to kick out and knock the pair away. Even though her arms were tied to her side, Shampoo got to her feet and charged for the Yaokaicun twins.. Shampoo then leapt forward and attacked Pink with her knee. The force pushed Pink backwards into Link, and the two were soon flat on their backs. Shampoo proceeded to stomp on them a few times before a couple of fists slammed against the top of her skull. /Owie-- you didn't have to hit me!/ Shampoo shouted at Ranma and Miki -- both of them had snuck up behind the purple-haired Amazon -- as she squatted down and squirmed out of the loosely tied ropes so she could massage her head.

/Well if you'd stop acting like a violent maniac every time you see Pin Ke and Lin Ke, then that wouldn't have happened!/ Ranma growled.

/Well, they deserve it for what they did to me./ Shampoo answered back with a pout.

/That was two years ago!/ Pink and Link shouted in annoyance as they nursed a few bruises. /Besides, Lin Ke didn't even do anything to you, over!/ Pink added after a moment.

/Yeah, I was only giving you the antidote for what my sister did./ Link piped in with a sniff. /Yet you beat me up too, and you keep on doing it every time you visit, over!/

Shampoo crossed her arms and began mumbling. /It's because you two are stupid./

Pink motioned to both Ranma and Miki. /And you two can't even stop her. You all are probably working together!/

/Have you gone crazy in the head or something-nya?/ Ranma asked with a raised eyebrow. /Can't you see that we tried to stop her?/

Miki gave a quick nod. /What you did to Xian Pu happened before we even came to China, and you did it one time. Me and Ranma have no reason to hate you-nya./

/How are we supposed to believe you, over?/ Link asked with uncertainty.

A vein appeared on Ranma's forehead as she walked up to the less assertive twin. /Do you have rice in your head or something?! We try to stop Xian Pu from hurting you two-nya!/

/Y-- you d-- don't have to be s-- so mean about it./ Link said as she started crying. /You're such a meanie, over!/

Pink got up and pushed Ranma out of the way. /Leave my sister alone, Ranma. If you don't, I'll make you pay!/ She held up some Mandragora seeds in a threatening manner. Her lips soon turned into a playful smile. /I wonder what affect these Mandragora would have on someone with cat ears. I'm sure that it would be very painful. Maybe you or Miki would like to-- owie!/ Pink shouted out as Ranma pulled her hand back from slapping the other girl upside the head. /Hey, stop that before I-- ow!/

/Quit threatening us with stupid plants, dummy./ Ranma stated as she crossed her arms. Neither Ranma nor Miki had the honors of experiencing Pink and Link's plants, and so they only had minimal knowledge and didn't know what they could really do. Ranma honestly found the idea to be stupid and pointless.

/It doesn't sound like something to be afraid of./ Miki agreed with a nod. /Unless it's cat-nip. That plant is bad./

/How dare you call our plants stupid?!/ Pink and Link screamed in outrage. /Maybe you'd like to experience Mandragora and _**THEN**_ tell us it is stupid, over!/

/What is Mandra… Mandragora?/ Miki asked in both confusion and interest. Ranma answered by shrugging her shoulders.

/Maybe it's tasty?/ Ranma supplied after a small bit of thought. /It does seem like they're trying to sell us some strange 'exotic' food like that traveling merchant who appeared in the village last year./ The eight-year-old still didn't understand why the guy thought eggplants would be unknown around the area.

Miki giggled at the idea. /Maybe you're right, Ranma. It really does sound like they are asking us to eat something and tell them that it's good-nya./

Shampoo shook her head and sighed. /How can you think that Mandragora sounds like food? It's not. It's a very evil plant that could kill you with a shriek./

Ranma raised an eyebrow. /Killed by a shrieking plant? How could someone be killed by a stupid plant that yells? Now if the plant was hundreds of feet tall and ate people, then that would make sense-nya./ Miki nodded her head in agreement.

Throughout the discussion, Pink and Link remained silent. Finally, they decided to have their say. /Hey, how dare you say that our plants are stupid?! We're going to show you what happens to people who are mean to plants, over!/ Pink pulled out a watering can and prepared to attack.

/Alright children, it's time to take off./ The group turned their heads to spot Cologne and the two Amazons that tagged along. /You're going to all have to cut your confrontation off for now./ The elder motioned for the trio to follow as she turned around and started to take off with the two Amazon women talking to each other excitedly. Sparing a glance at each other, the trio hurried off and catch up with the older women. Shampoo and Ranma both spared some time to look back and stick out their tongues at Pink and Link as they were running.

Pink and Link just stood there until Pink clenched a fist. /They're going to pay one of these days, over!/

/I can not forgive them for insulting our plants and being so mean, sister. We will teach them a lesson, over./ Link responded with a pout.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

'Blasted backwater savages.' Genma thought to himself as he was finally let out of his cell a few days later. He had no idea why they had to go and lock him up. All he was doing was spying on his son and looking for the right opportunity to snatch him and make a run for it. During his time back in the cell, he was restrained and had a drop of water fall onto his head every three seconds for three hours at a time. He was also forced -- with guards watching closely for any sign of attempted escape -- to do various menial tasks under the threat of having his body turned sensitive to hot water. It was explained that if the method were used, even warm water would feel boiling to his skin. Genma knew that if that were to happen, he'd end up stuck in panda form indefinitely.

Now all Genma wanted to do was to make sure his son was keeping up with his martial arts and not just lounging around. And if his son _**WAS**_ just lounging around -- perhaps to recover from a rather strenuous training schedule so that he could get back up and do it again, -- then Genma wanted to make sure that his son wasn't in _**FEMALE**_ form. 'The boy gets enough of it when he's being trained by these women.'

After about an hour of searching, Genma couldn't find a trace of either his son or Miki. Usually the two were close together, and so if he found one, the other was bound to be near. Annoyed at his lack of success at finding his 'ungrateful son', Genma decided to -- reluctantly -- ask someone if they had seen Ranma. He couldn't just ask anybody though. He was sure that most of the women in the village were in cahoots with each other to punish him unfairly, and a lot of the men seemed to take the same side as well for some reason. It was enough to make the entire village almost untrustworthy. Still, he had to ask somebody.

Then again, he could just sneak a peek through the house of that Shampoo girl and her great-grandmother. Ranma was bound to be there, or maybe some clues of some sort. People always leave _**SOME**_ kind of clue lying around, and a proper thief is supposed to be able to find clues so that they can take whatever they are looking for. 'I suppose I could unseal the forbidden arts just this once for something as important as this.' Genma reasoned as he ducked out of view before cloaking himself in the Umisenken. Carefully, he made his way towards his destination while making sure that he disturbed nothing to give his position away. It didn't take long before he successfully arrived at the house and spotted an open window. Climbing through it, he glanced around for any sign of a person. Making sure nobody from the outside could possibly see him, Genma moved away from the window and dropped the Umisenken. He soon got to work rummaging through belongings.

"Hey, what is stupid panda doing in here without permission?!" A voice asked in both anger and annoyance. The voice was so sudden that it caused Genma to jump a little as he turned around. When he did, Genma saw that the one who caught him was a man of around his age with a thin black mustache, thin beard, round black glasses covering his eyes, and a black Chinese style silk shirt and pants. Genma vaguely remembered him as being that Shampoo girl's father. "How dare you break in and rummage though house that no belong to you!"

Genma cursed his luck at being found out, and so he settled on a decision that would allow him to get out of the place with no problem. Quickly moving forward, Genma made to catch the other man off guard and knock him unconscious. Since coming to this backwater place, he hadn't noticed a single male who trained like the females did, and so he figured that the men in this place were naturally -- and unfairly -- weak. That meant this confrontation would be simple.

It was surprising to him, though, when the other man dodged his punch with little effort and sent a series of fast punches sailing at the older Saotome. Genma managed to dodge a few, but was hit by most of them and was sent flying backwards. He was even more shocked when the other man got into a fighting stance. "I thought these women were the only ones with skill. How were you able to do that?!"

"What? You think only females of village are good martial artists? Females may be easier to train, encouraged to train, and trained more, but doesn't mean males are thought of as unimportant. If they have skill, they be trained to protect village. It be stupid thing to ignore potential fighters just because one gender preferred over other." The father of Shampoo prepared himself as Genma got back to his feet. The fight was interrupted when the door to the house flew open to reveal a couple of Amazons carrying weapons.

/Anming, what is going on? We heard some commotion and-- YOU!/ The Amazon with green hair shouted as she pointed to Genma. /What is he doing here?/

Anming quickly adjusted his glasses. /This fat fool broke into the house and started rummaging through everything until he found the letter from Shampoo's friend's mother. It was then that I discovered him and he attempted to attack me./ The father of Shampoo finished seriously. Genma was at a complete loss for the conversation.

/Elder Khu Lon's orders were to not let that fat panda learn where they had gone. However, now we have to deal with the fact that he broke into the house of an elder and attacked someone./ The other Amazon -- with black hair -- snarled out before pointing her sword at Genma. "You have committed serious crimes, and you will be punished for it!"

A smirk played crossed Genma's lips "You'll have to catch me first!" He then disappeared into the Umisenken and snuck passed the trio.

/What kind of technique was that?!/ The purple-haired Amazon demanded to nobody before turning to her partner. /Quick, inform everyone you can. We can not let that fool escape!/ Her partner nodded as the both of them left the house.

'I probably shouldn't have used the Umisenken again.' Genma thought to himself as he slowly made his way through the streets crowded with Amazons searching for him. 'Still, it is helping me get out of here. Maybe I'll just use it a few more times until I get away from this entire place before I seal it up again.' The older Saotome figured that he was almost free of the place and had nothing to worry about. His plan was to lay low until everything calmed down, and then he'd get back to looking for his son. That was until a bucket of water mysteriously fell from above, transformed him into a panda, and caused him to lose focus of the invisibility technique. As he was pulling the bucket off of his head, Genma heard the distinct sound of drawn steel. What he saw were several blades pointed in his direction with no real escape.

"So, you thought you could cause trouble and escape?" An aged -- but still with a youthful tone -- voice asked as the warriors in front of Genma parted to let a woman through. The woman was old, but she didn't seem to be ancient like several of the other elders. She was around 4' 4" with fading red hair. In her hands was a gnarled staff that some of the other elders also seemed to carry. "You know, you're kind of lucky. Anybody else would have been killed for half of the things that you've done."

Genma gave a nervous growlf as he pulled out some signs from nowhere. _"I'm sure we can come to some agreement. All I was doing was trying to find my son!."_ Genma was really hoping that he could get out of this mostly intact, healthy, and living.

"I'm afraid that you won't find him here. Elder Cologne left several days ago with him to Japan. I believe she mentioned something about taking the child to see his mother." The matriarch loved the look of pure fear on Genma's face. 'You were right when you said he would practically wet himself out of fear.' She thought as she thought back to what the diminutive woman had told her.

Genma nervously pulled out a sign. _"Let me go so I can go get my son! You don't know what my wife could possibly do to the boy!"_

"I'm sorry, but that's impossible. By breaking into the home of a matriarch, you've finally over-stepped your welcome. I'm afraid that the punishment is death."

"_Let's not be too hasty," _Genma answered with a quick sign. _"I'll do whatever you want. Just don't kill me! After that, I'll leave and never return."_ The pandafied Saotome was hoping that his luck hadn't run out and that he could be just be stuck doing a bunch of small-time physical tasks. He could then possibly escape when they let their guard down.

The elderly woman in front of him gave him a piercing stare that made the panda nervous. He started sweating when the woman smiled evilly. "You know, I think we _**CAN**_ reach some sort of agreement." The evil cackle that followed filled Genma with a fear that he hadn't felt since he was under the teachings of his old master.

'Perhaps I made the wrong choice.' Genma thought with a gulp as the Amazons grabbed hold of him and started marching off.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It had taken almost three weeks of travel -- two weeks to reach the sea where they caught a boat, and almost a week after landing on the Japanese shore -- to reach Tokyo, Japan. On their way to Nerima, they had to pass through the Minato and Shibuya wards. They still had the Nakano ward to travel through before they were finally in the Nerima ward.

"Many crowded places here." Shampoo stated reluctantly in Japanese. She wasn't familiar with speaking the language. When her great-grandmother first ordered her to start learning and speaking in Japanese, Ranma and Miki could only laugh while Ranma asked her 'who's the one who can't speak a language NOW?'

"It's not that bad." Ranma replied as he and Miki started jumping around like monkeys. Ranma was glad to be back home in Japan where he could speak normally again. Miki -- even though she was a normal kitten at the time and had no real understanding of the place -- was still excited to be back to the land she was born in.

"I bet all the other cats won't even recognize me!" Miki stated excitedly and ended up earning a few odd stares. Both her and Ranma's tails were coiled around their waists so nobody would notice, and their ears were hidden away as well. "Look at that, look at that-nya!" Miki shouted while pointing to some TVs in a video store window. Everyone turned their heads to look at the TVs to see a news program talking about a group of magical girls. There was something that caused both Ranma and Miki to stare on with wide eyes.

"The one with pink hair has cat-ears and a tail!" Ranma shouted as he looked at the girl in pink. Her cat-ears and tail were both black, and she had a large bell and bow on her tail. "I guess I'm not the only cat-person fighting against evil-nya."

"More cat-persons." Shampoo groaned with a hand to her forehead. "Why there so many? Why also must Shampoo sound so stupid when talk?!"

"Now child, there's no reason to get frustrated." Cologne supplied with amusement. "After-all, didn't Ranma and Miki start off with issues when they learned to speak our language?" That allowed Shampoo to feel a little better. "I'm sure you'll eventually get the hang of it."

"Shampoo guess." The young purple-haired Amazon grumbled under her breath. "We almost there yet?"

Cologne nodded. "We are just now crossing into Nerima, and so we should be arriving at Ranma's mother's house within an hour or two." At that, Ranma appeared to take on an even happier look before he started conversing with Miki. The aged matriarch, however, couldn't feel at ease until she was absolutely sure that Nodoka wouldn't still have thoughts of seppuku in the back of her mind.

"Hey, what's that over there in that park?" Miki asked excitedly as she pointed to said park. "It looks like there are a lot of people, and some are eating stuff."

Ranma followed his friend's gaze and noticed the banner that was hanging near the entrance of the park. "Try out what Café Mew Mew has to offer for your sweet tooth. Cakes, Ice Cream, Pie, and various other sweets; if you are ever in Shibuya, Café Mew Mew will be happy to serve." It took a couple moments after reading it for it to sink in, and when it did, both Ranma and Miki ran off towards the park.

"H-- hey, where you going?" Shampoo asked as she waved an arm. "Great-grandmother, what should we do?"

Cologne scratched her chin before cackling. "I think after our trip, we have earned a little time to sample some sweets. Wouldn't you like to have some delicious cake or ice cream, Shampoo?" Her great-granddaughter nodded her head vigorously. "Well then, let's go and have a little enjoyment." The diminutive woman pogoed away to the park, and the two Amazons that accompanied them entered and split off into different directions. Shampoo's mouth began to water when she noticed some of the cake being eaten, and so she, too, entered the park.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"This is so good-nya!" Ranma shouted as he scarfed down some cake. It had been a long time since he had tasted anything so good. "There are so many things to try too!" The cat-boy reached for another slice of cake as someone joined him. The person was a girl about a couple inches taller than him, and she was wearing an orange and white waitress uniform. She had short blonde hair and dark brown eyes.

"Heya, heya!" The girl shouted hyperactively. "Pudding sees that you are enjoying the sweets made by Café Mew Mew!" The girl -- apparently named Pudding -- clapped Ranma a few times on the shoulders. "You should try the profiterole next! It's very very good." The blonde then put a hand to her mouth. "Oh! Pudding hasn't introduced herself! Pudding is Pudding Fong!"

Ranma -- feeling slightly dizzy at meeting the girl in front of him -- ended up following suit and introducing himself. "I'm Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts."

"Wow! A martial artist! You must be really good at it, huh? Huh?"

Ranma crossed his arms. "I'm the best!"

"So cool! Pudding wants to see some martial arts!" The blonde shouted as she jumped up and down. Of course, she was holding the younger boy's hands and causing him to become a little disoriented.

"Pudding, you're causing him to get dizzy!" Another girl shouted as she ran up. The girl had dark red hair with short pigtails tied up by red ribbons. The color of her eyes was also a chocolate brown. She was wearing a similar outfit to Pudding, but it was red in color. "I think you should let go of him, and where the heck has Mint gone off to?!"

"Pudding thinks Mint is having her afternoon tea somewhere." The blonde answered back joyfully before motioning towards Ranma. "Ichigo, this is Ranma. He is Pudding's new friend! But now Pudding has to go and entertain other people. Bye bye, Ranma!" Pudding shouted as she jumped onto a balancing ball and rolled it away from the area.

"What the heck was that?" Ranma finally asked as he glanced at the girl named Ichigo. "I thought a friend of mine could get hyper, but that was crazy!"

"Pudding has a little too much energy sometimes." Ichigo supplied with a deep sigh. "I can't believe we had to do this today. I was going to spend the day with Masaya, too."

Ranma tilted his head as he started eating some ice cream. "Masaya?" He asked between licks. He was then confused when the girl started to get all flustered about whoever this Masaya person was. Ranma had no clue why she was so embarrassed, but he quickly noticed what seemed to be a cat tail behind the redhead. It was only visible for a second before completely vanishing. Ranma's head soon began to fill with questions. "Hey, are you--"

"Ichigo, quit messing around and do something." A voice commanded from a little ways away. Ichigo soon gained a nicely sized vein on her forehead as she spun around to glare at a girl with short black hair in an odango style. Her outfit was a blue color. "I honestly don't see why you should be able to goof off."

Ichigo's face turned a little red. "Mint, why don't you--"

She didn't manage to get what she wanted to say out as a gentle voice spoke out. "Hey now, let's not get into any fights today." Ranma glanced around until he caught sight of a tall man with dark brown hair in a loose ponytail. His outfit consisted of a white dress shirt, black pants, suspenders, and a black bow tie. His eyes were also a calm gray. "Today is just supposed to be a day where we can have fun while promoting the café. It should be enough to see everyone enjoying the food. Why not go and see if you can help anyone else, Ichigo?"

Ichigo slowly nodded. "I guess I am having a great time today." The redhead then gave Ranma a smile. "I hope you enjoy yourself, Ranma." She said before waving and moving away from the area. The tall man then glanced down at Ranma.

"Ranma, is it? I'm Keiichiro Akasaka." Keiichiro stated with a smile. The man soon turned slightly serious. "Ranma, you didn't happen to see a certain something while talking to Ichigo, did you?"

Ranma tilted his head to try and figure out what the older man was talking about. "Are you talking about her tail?" It was the only thing that he could think about, and he wished he could ask a few questions.

"I thought so." Keiichiro answered back. "I had a feeling that you might have seen it even though it only appeared for a split second." He then got down on a knee and laid a hand on Ranma's shoulder. "Now listen, what you saw is supposed to be a big secret, and nobody else should know about it. If word got out, some bad things could happen to Ichigo, Pudding, and their friends." Ranma's eyes took on a hard look. As a martial artist -- and part time magical hero, -- it was his duty to prevent people from getting into danger. "I would like it if you could keep what you saw a secret. Do you understand?"

"Loud and clear, Akasaka-san. On my honor as a martial artist, I won't reveal what I saw to anybody." Ranma's lips broke out in a catty grin as he unfurled his tail from around his waist a little. "Besides, I have my own hidden things. Hopefully you can keep this just between us-nya?"

Keiichiro was completely floored to see that the young boy in front of him actually had a cat tail. There were only six people injected with animal genes, and only Ichigo and Ryou had cat genes. The question on his mind now was who this boy was. "How?"

Ranma's answer was just a catty grin. "It's a secret. Also, since I'm keeping your friends' secret a secret, then you can keep this secret a secret-nya."

The older man gave off a slight chuckle as he stood up. "I guess that's a fair agreement. So how are you enjoying--" Before Keiichiro could finish, a series of screams sounded throughout the park. Turning their heads, both Ranma and Keiichiro saw a bunch of people being attacked by a group of vicious and strange-looking creatures. The creatures had an appearance of mini dragons with long snouts and two rows of sharp teeth. Their hands and feet contained sharp claws, and a pair of leathery wings protruded out of their back. Their tails were long and bony with a sharp pincer on the end. "Those can't be Chimera Anima." Keiichiro stated before turning his head to look back at Ranma. The young cat-boy was nowhere to be found though. He hoped that the boy had gotten scared and ran away to safety. 'Hopefully the girls will be able to handle these things.' The 22-year-old thought as he went to join his friend, Ryou, in making sure that everyone got away safely.

While this was going on, Ranma -- as Sailor Mau -- was hiding in a nearby tree. He made sure that Miki and Shampoo were hiding, although the latter of the two protested vehemently about not being able to fight. That had changed when she was almost grabbed by one of those creatures. After that, she followed Miki and hid. Cologne and the two Amazons were fighting against a couple of the creatures and seemed to be holding their own just fine. What really caught Ranma's eyes were the girls that he saw earlier on that TV news program.

Four of them wore what appeared to be mini-dresses, but each had a different color. However the fifth one in the group wore what looked like a bikini top and a mini skirt. All five of them also seemed to have animal features of some sort. The one in pink with pink hair was a cat-girl. The one in blue had small bird wings and a tail. The one in yellow had monkey features. The one in purple had wolf features. However, the one in green didn't seem to have any identifiable animal features, and so Ranma didn't know what she could be.

"Reborn Strawberry Check!" The cat-girl shouted as her attack flew from her weapon -- which had the appearance of a pink heart-shaped bell of sorts. The attack flew towards one of the creatures and knocked it backwards. This was followed by cries of 'Reborn Pudding Ring', 'Reborn Mint Echo', 'Reborn Lettuce Rush', and 'Reborn ZaCross Pure'. Each time a creature was knocked down, a few more would appear.

'They can't have all the fun.' Ranma thought as he squatted down on the branch and leapt off of it and out of the tree. "Mau Yarn-Ball Barrage Entangle!" The cat-boy shouted as he started tossing his energy yarn-balls at several of the creatures. Several of them were soon wrapped up within the golden energy strands. As Ranma landed on the ground, he held up his right hand and snapped his fingers. The wrapped up creatures exploded no more than a second later. Within the last two years, Ranma learned that he didn't have to shout 'explode' to ignite the yarn-ball attack. All the had to do was snap his fingers. "Ruining social gatherings and preventing people from sampling delicious food is evil." In a quick motion, Ranma jumped and kicked on of the creatures in its face. "My name is Sailor Mau, and because you're attacking innocent people, you jackasses are going down-nya!"

The Mew Mew's could only stare at the sight of a young boy in black and gold with a tail and cat-ears similar to Ichigo's. Ichigo herself was completely shocked that there was another cat-person, and she wondered if the young boy had some issues similar to her with hiding her cat features when completely nervous or excited. "W-- who are you?" Ichigo asked dumbfounded.

Ranma gave the group a 'V' sign with his fingers. "Sailor Mau; and I'm going to join you in the fun." He received some strange looks for the mention of 'fun', but shrugged them off as he turned to a few remaining creatures. "I'll take these three, and you take the remaining ones-nya." The cat-boy stated with his usual mischievous and catty grin. Turning to his three targets, Ranma held out his hands and started to channel some energy. "Cat Scratch… Frenzy!" He shouted as he rushed forward as the claws on his gloves extended a few inches. Ranma then vanished in a slight blur that began assaulting the trio of creatures. Said creatures cried out in pain as their bodies were scratched for several seconds until Ranma stopped. As soon as he re-appeared, the creatures fell forward and blacked out due to the pain and blood loss.

It didn't take too much longer for the Mew Mews -- and Cologne and the two Amazons -- to finish off the remaining ones. Ranma also sent Cologne and the others a look that said 'I'll join you later'. Acknowledging the gesture, they quickly made haste from the area. "Those didn't seem to be Chimera Anima." The Mew Mew in green noted with a hint of uncertainty. "You think the aliens are trying something new?"

"I don't know, but there were a lot of them." The one in blue with the bird wings answered back with a frown. "And I still wonder who he is." She said as she pointed to Ranma.

"I told you; I'm Sailor Mau." Ranma answered with his arms crossed. "And I think I should be going-nya!" He shouted as he leaped to the top of a nearby roof.

"Hey, wait up! Mew Pudding wants to be friends!" The shorter girl in yellow shouted as she jumped up onto the roof and attempted to follow the cat-boy. When he jumped down into an alley, Pudding followed. She lost all sight of him, however. "Aww, he's gone." Pudding pouted as she turned around and jumped away. Little did she know, Ranma had changed into his cat form and was hiding behind a garbage can.

'I'm glad I have this form.' Ranma thought as he walked out from behind the can and headed for the alleyway entrance. He didn't get far before some water -- poured from a bucket from a side window -- drenched him and turned him female. 'Stupid water,' Ranma thought as she tried to shake herself dry.

"You're so soaking wet, kitty!" A girlish voice shouted out, and before Ranma knew it, she was picked up into the arms of an eight-year-old girl with short blue-ish black hair and dark eyes. "I know, how about I take you home and dry you off?"

"Akane-chan, what are you doing with that kitten?" A woman with dark hair similar to the young girl's asked. "I don't think you should be picking it up."

"But mama, she's all wet and cold. Can we please take her home and dry her off?" Akane asked her mother with a cute little pout.

Her mother caved in almost instantly. "Oh alright, we can take her so you can dry her off. Now come on, we need to hurry up and get home."

"Yay!" Akane shouted as she held Ranma gently in her arms and gave the kitten a small kiss on the head. "Her little bald spot is cute too."

'Now what am I going to do?' Ranma asked herself with a slight frown. 'I always seem to get into these messes.' She hoped that the others wouldn't worry too much, but what about going to visit her mother? 'At least I'll get dried off.'

xxA.Nxx

Yeah, I know Shampoo's father didn't have a name. That's why I gave him one.

Something I've been trying to come to a decision about is what Akane's mother died from. Basically, I'm deciding on whether to have her survive -- due to Ranma intervening -- or not.

As I was writing this chapter, I realized that I couldn't come to a decision on whether I should just insert Ranma into the main Tokyo Mew Mew storyline, or have it happen sometime after -- also have the Mew Mews' genes reactivate -- and create a new enemy. I finally decided to insert Ranma into the main storyline, but include another protagonist trying to muscle in on the current Enemy's plans. The enemy I decided on was an element I decided to use from Tokyo Black Cat Girl -- which happens to be an earlier small work by the creator of Tokyo Mew Mew.


	8. Nyoko

A Surviving Mau

Ranma ½, Sailor Moon, and any other series used in this fanfic are owned by their respectful owners. I do not own anything about them at all.

-Small pre-story Author's Note: Mrs. Tendo never had an official name, and Kimiko is a fan-made name. I honestly don't care much for the name 'Kimiko'.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

//Cat Speak//

/Chinese/

Chapter 8

"Where Ranma?" Shampoo asked the group as they waited a few blocks away from the scene of the monster attack. It was almost 10 minutes after they had left the area, and there was no sign of the cat-boy anywhere. "He should have met with us by now."

Her great-grandmother gave a small nod. "You are correct. He would have found and met with us after the fight. That is, unless there's something preventing him from coming." The diminutive woman wasn't worried, though. She knew that the young Saotome could handle himself quite well, but there was the small matter that they couldn't just head over to the boy's mother and say that they didn't know where he was. "Miki," she began, "can you use your connection with the boy to find out anything that could be of use?"

Miki nodded and closed her eyes. Both she and Ranma shared a link of sorts. They couldn't communicate telepathically, but they had the ability to sense if the other was in or out of trouble. There were also times when they could gain a rough estimate of the other's surroundings. After a few moments, the young cat-girl opened her eyes. "Ranma's currently a girl and in kitten form. I can't really sense where she is, but she's fine and doesn't seem too worried. I think she's also being carried by a girl."

The others nodded. At least they knew the child was in safe hands if she was fine and calm. "Now we have to find her!" Shampoo shouted in annoyance. "Ranma no make it easy." The purple-haired girl sighed. "Why no just tell mother of Ranma she become excited about being back and decide to do little exploring? Miki say before that Ranma explore cities on own at nights two year ago."

Cologne stroked her chin in thought. "No, that won't do at all. The child's mother won't like the idea of her son running around instead of first visiting her. It would send a terrible message that Ranma would rather explore than meet her. The best thing to do would be to find Ranma first."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Back in the park, a different group was working on cleaning up some of the mess that was left behind by the strange creatures. "Pudding wonders who Sailor Mau really is!" The short blonde girl stated as she cleaned up some of the cake on the ground. "He should have told us who he really was."

"Well, it's apparent that he's not a Mew Mew." Mint responded. "But he does have the features of a cat." The dark-haired girl clapped her hands together and glanced towards Ichigo. "I think we finally found someone Ichigo can relate to! Maybe we could get the both of you together to talk about fish or yarn-balls!"

Ichigo leveled a glare at the girl. "That was so funny that I forgot to laugh." She stated dryly. "I actually do wish I was able to talk to him, but mostly because I want to know if he has some of the same problems I do." Of course, the redhead was mostly talking about the problem with her ears and tail popping out whenever she got excited. There was also the issue of actually changing into an actual cat with the threat of being stuck in the form forever if she spent too long in it.

"We have more pressing matters." Zakuro interjected as she set a few chairs up. "Those creatures from earlier couldn't have been Chimera Anima, and they seem to attack in large groups." Everyone nodded in agreement -- except for Mint. Her eyes were filled with hearts as she talked about how the older girl was so right.

"But what were they?" Lettuce asked in concern before falling over a chair that she had just set back up.

"Maybe the aliens do have something to do with it." Ichigo supplied with a frown.

"It's nice of you to think about us, Ichigo." A playful voice called out from above. The group glanced up to see Kish floating lazily in the air. "But I must admit that we actually don't have a part in this at all." As he lowered to the ground, he noticed the girls tensing up. "Don't get your tails in a twist." The alien stated with a wave of his hand. "The Bagu are the real threat for right now."

The name caused the group looked at Kish curiously. "What are the Bagu?" Ichigo finally asked.

"They're a nasty race of intergalactic parasites that feed on the blood of living creatures and move from planet to planet." A strange frown appeared on the Kish's lips. "It seems that they are going to try and do our job of killing off the humans for us." Before they could react, Kish teleported to a few inches from Ichigo. "That is, unless you manage to stop them, 'honey'." The alien then proceeded to vanish from the area.

"I really wish he would stop doing that." Ichigo stated after a moment of silence as she tried to kill her embarrassment. "Now we have to worry about creepy bug-like lizard things trying to suck the blood out of people!"

"Don't worry, we'll kick their butts!" Pudding shouted with a fist in the air. "And maybe that Sailor Mau will help us some more! Pudding wants to see him again."

Of to the side, Keiichiro and Ryou were having their own discussion over the sudden appearance of Sailor Mau. "Who was that kid? The only ones that were injected with animal DNA were me, Ichigo, and the others. His powers and abilities also seem to be way different than the girls' powers."

"I wouldn't worry too much." Keiichiro responded reassuringly.

"You know something, don't you?" The blond boy accused once he noticed his friend was hiding some information.

The older man stayed silent for a long moment before answering. "I did promise to him that I'd keep what little I found out a secret. It was in return for him keeping it secret that he spotted Ichigo's tail." Keiichiro couldn't help but chuckle at the exasperated look on his younger friend's face. "I may not have seen him become Sailor Mau, but I was able to quickly put two-and-two together. I know his name, so perhaps we can look for him later on and ask him how he acquired his animal genes."

Ryou nodded and wondered if they could get the boy to help. More help in combating the villains was always needed. "I'm more curious about whether the kid has a full cat form, and if he also runs the risk of getting trapped in it."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Several blocks away, a young girl of around nine was lounging on a sofa and snacking away on some potato chips. Her eyes were dark, and she had dark brown hair tied up in twin pigtails. Her name was Nabiki Tendo, and most people who knew her would state that her most defining attributes were her dry wit and sarcasm. Despite that, she was still a friendly, normal, and sweet girl.

Turning the page of the manga she was reading, Nabiki's cheeks turned a small shade of pink. 'Now I know why mom and dad keep this series hidden.' She thought as she continued to read.

"Nabiki!"

"Eep!" The middle Tendo daughter shouted as she leapt off of the sofa and turned around to come face-to-face with her older sister, Kasumi. Before Nabiki could act, her sister had swiftly reached out and pinched her hard on the cheek.

"You _**KNOW**_ that we aren't supposed to be reading those. Mother and father told us that we weren't to even touch them." Kasumi let go as she finished.

"Nobody could ever accuse you of being weak." Nabiki deadpanned as she rubbed the sore spot on her cheek. "Honestly sis, way to be-- what's the word-- hypocritical. I've seen you sneak into mom and dad's room several times to take one to read." Smirking at the reddening cheeks of her sister, Nabiki flipped the book around in her hand. "At least I can say I was just curious about it. You, on the other hand, seem to have a naughty mind."

"I only read it because I like the story!" Kasumi argued as she continued to remain flustered. "M-- Maybe it is a little pervy, but the main characters make a great couple, and I like reading about Makoto and Yura's everyday lives."

Nabiki was going to have some more fun at teasing her thoroughly embarrassed sister, but was knocked out of her mirth when the entrance door was heard opening and closing. "We're back!" Nabiki recognized the voice as her younger sister's, and that meant their mother was back as well. Glancing quickly at the manga in her hands, the middle Tendo sister quickly shoved it into Kasumi's hand just as their sister and mother came into view.

"Kasumi," the tone in her mother's voice made the older sibling look up nervously, "that wouldn't happen to be my manga, would it?"

"Y-- Yes, it is." Kasumi responded hesitantly as she kept giving side-long glances to Nabiki. Her sister was acting completely innocent as she continued to eat her chips. "B-- But it's not what it looks like!" Kasumi was on the verge of panicking as her mother walked up and gently grabbed the book out of her hands.

Shizue held the book in her hands and examined it. After what seemed like a long moment, she noticed that the manga seemed to have been previously held by greasy fingers. Turning her eyes towards her second oldest daughter, the matriarch of the Tendo family noted that the brand of chips Nabiki was eating were greasier than most other brands. "Nabiki, how many times have I told you to wipe your hands so you don't leave spots on things?" Shizue had to suppress a smile as the girl in question sputtered before looking like a dear caught in the headlights. "Also, how many times have I told you to stop trying to get others in trouble and take responsibility for your own actions? I'm very disappointed, young lady."

"Sorry mama." Nabiki answered in a subdued voice. "I was just curious and wanted to read it to see what it was like."

Shizue's expression softened as she kneeled down in front of her second oldest. "It's alright, dear. I was angrier that you tried to frame your own sister for something you did. Just promise me that you won't do it again."

"I promise." Nabiki responded with a small smile and a nod. This earned her a kiss on the forehead from her mother.

"Good," the Tendo matriarch stated with a motherly smile, "now, I take it that your father is busy teaching some classes in the dojo right now?" At Kasumi and Nabiki's nods, Shizue slowly stood up and looked at her children. "The session should be about over, so I'm going to go check on him. Oh, and Akane, make sure you dry off your new friend."

"Okay, mama." Akane responded with a nod as she continued to hold the red-furred kitten form of Ranma in her arms. When her mother left the room, both of her older siblings glanced at her curiously. Their eyes widened when they noticed the small and furry feline in the youngest Tendo's arms. Needless to say, both girls were next to Akane so fast that it almost seemed as if they teleported.

The first one to comment was Nabiki as she stared at a certain spot on Ranma's forehead. "It has a really weird bald spot." The nine-year-old commented as she poked the kitten's forehead before picking Ranma up by the scruff of her neck. "Maybe you're some type of magical animal or something, huh?" Nabiki joked humorously as she held the kitten in place.

Thankfully, before Ranma could do or say anything to blow her cover, Akane managed to come to her rescue. "Don't be mean to her!" She shouted as she gave her sister a slap upside the head and gently took the kitten away from her. "She's just a kitten, and you could end up hurting her."

As Nabiki rubbed the side of her head and grumbled about violent sisters, Kasumi scratched Ranma behind her ear. "I think it's cute because it makes her unique." A sudden thought occurred to the older sister. "You haven't thought up a name for her yet, have you?"

Akane shook her head. It wasn't long before her eyes brightened as a name came to her. "Oh, I know a name for her!" The others in the room were silent as she smiled. "Her name can be C-chan! The 'C' would stand for the English word 'cat'!" Akane noticed the looks that she was receiving. "What? I think the name's cute."

"No offense, Akane, but you suck at naming animals." Nabiki stated with a half-lidded stare and hands on her hips.

Ranma had to agree with the assessment. 'Can't you be a little more original or something? Jeez, even Shampoo is more creative in her names than that.'

Before Akane could start an argument, Kasumi reached out and started to pet the kitten again. "I think I have a better name. The spot on her forehead is very smooth, and I keep being reminded of a gem of some kind. Maybe we can name her Nyoko?"

"That's using your brain, Kasumi." Nabiki commented as she gave her older sister a pat on the back. Turning to her younger, Nabiki smirked. "Looks like you need to work on your naming skills, Akane."

"You two just don't know good names when you hear them." Akane pouted as she held Ranma face-to-face. "You like the name C-chan, don't you?" she asked playfully. When the transformed child shook her head, Akane frowned. "If you weren't a kitten, I'd think that you knew what I said."

"Here you go, Akane." Kasumi stated softly as she handed her sister a small towel from almost out of nowhere. In her other hand was a small bowl of milk. Akane was going to ask how she did that, but decided to ignore it as she dried Ranma off and set her down onto the floor. Kasumi then set the bowl down on in front of the kitten. "I'm sure she's probably thirsty."

Ranma managed to suppress a sigh as she walked over to the bowl and began to lap up the milk. 'I'll never understand how cats can put up with this without feeling embarrassed.' At the same time, though, she was actually having fun. The trio of girls didn't know the truth about her, and they didn't seem too bad. 'It won't take too long for Miki and the others to find me, so maybe I'll just play along.' Ranma thought as she finished the bowl of milk. Suppressing her amusement, she glanced at all three of the Tendo daughters. "Nya!"

"I think Nyoko liked the milk!" Akane exclaimed happily as she picked Ranma up again. She still would have preferred to have called the kitten C-chan, but she guessed Nyoko was also a cute name.

The laughing of a male voice distracted the foursome from their activity. "So you girls already named it?" Ranma turned her head to spot a tall man dressed in a dark brown gi. His long black hair ended a little past his shoulders, and above his lip was a thin mustache. "I just hope you don't end up getting too attached. That kitten may very well belong to somebody else."

"I hope not! I won't let anyone take Nyoko!" Akane shouted as she raised a fist. "I'll punch anybody who tries to take her."

"Akane!" Shizue scolded as she crossed her arms. "I've told you many times to control your temper. Unnecessary violence solves nothing. Right, dear?" Mrs. Tendo asked as she glanced towards her husband.

Soun quickly nodded in agreement. "Yes, and it's also not becoming for a martial artist to go around wrongfully hurting people. I believe that I've also told you that, Akane."

"Yes mama, papa." Akane answered softly. In her arms, Ranma's ears perked up perked she learned that the girl was a martial artist. "I'll try harder to not lose my temper."

Her father nodded his head in approval. "See that you do, because starting tomorrow, I'll start training you in some higher forms of the Tendo Anything Goes martial arts. You've been doing well, and I think advancing you will be the perfect idea."

Akane's eyes brightened once she heard what her father had said. "You mean it, papa?!" At her father's nod, the youngest Tendo daughter hopped to her feet and proceeded to jump for joy. Akane wished that her sisters had a greater interest in martial arts so they had more in common, but it didn't really matter too much. In her arms, Ranma was trying to not feel dizzy with all the jumping, and was also planning on watching the father-daughter duo practice.

Soun could only chuckle at his daughter's excited behavior. 'Ah the joys of teaching a child in the art.' A stray thought managed to filter its way into his head. 'I wonder how my old training partner, Genma, is doing on his training trip with his son.'

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In a moderately lit room located within the Amazon village of Joketsuzoku, the matriarchs were having a meeting. They were welcoming back one of the elders who had been away on a trip to visit some relatives who were living somewhere in Europe. /It's so good to see that you have returned safely, Elder Fang-Hua./ One of the younger elders, an elderly woman of around 80-years-old with graying red hair, greeted with a kind smile.

Fang Hua, a woman of around 120 with short white hair in a bun style, nodded in response. /I thank you for the kind greeting, Elder Mei-Lien. I am most curious to know of what has happened in my 10 month absence. Where, by chance, is Elder Kho Lon?/

/She's currently on a trip in Japan with her great-granddaughter, young Ranma Saotome, and Ranma's friend Miki. The purpose was so that young Ranma could meet up with his mother again./ An elder who's hair had a green tint to it provided.

/Ah yes, the cat-child./ Fang-Hua observed as she scratched her chin. /It was a pleasure to get to know him, as well as his friend. His father, though, is a completely different story. I assume you got rid of that useless oaf?/

Mei-Lien's response was an evil smile. /Not exactly, Fang-Hua. You see, the fat oaf thought that he could break into elder Kho Lon's home and snoop around. He also thought that he could attack Xian Pu's father and escape from everyone by using a weird technique that allowed him to disappear from view entirely. We were thinking about just putting him to death, but he managed to _**CONVINC**_ us that he'd do anything to prevent it. After he finished up with whatever we had in mind, he would leave and never set foot within a mile of this place./ The other elders cackled in amusement.

The returning elder was most curious as to what the others had decided for the fool. /So, what punishment did you decide was most suitable?/

Mei-Lien continued to smile as she held up a small bell. /Oh nothing much, just a little fun with that new Instant Jusenkyou product and the Cat's Tongue pressure point./ The red-haired woman proceeded to ring the bell. "Oh Genma, please be a good little servant and bring us some tea, please!"

After a few moments of silence, the sound of feet could be heard shuffling towards them. It wasn't long before a figure emerged from the doorway with a large tray of cups, water, and a tea kettle. The figure was obviously female, but she was slightly thick-bodied, and her head lacked any hint of hair whatsoever. Her eyes were small, and she wore a pair of glasses that were held in place by a strap that was positioned behind her ears. Her feet were bare, and a pair of shackles hanging from her ankles made sure that she couldn't run. Around her neck was a thick collar, and the only other thing she wore was a Chinese-style mini-dress. It was obvious that finger and toenails were painted, and there were traces of make-up on her face. Said face had obvious disgust and embarrassment of the whole situation.

"Your tea… honorable elders." Genma softly stated in a strained voice. She _**HATED**_ what they had done to _**HIM**_. These _**WOMEN**_ had alerted all of the guards and warriors of the village about _**HIS**_ Umisenken, and so she had more people watching her than ever. The collar around her neck also had some weird seal on it that actually prevented her from molding her energy to even be able to _**USE**_ the sealed arts. Turning around, she made her way towards the doorway to leave, but she was stopped in her tracks by the voice of Mei-Lien.

"Oh you don't have to leave so soon. Why don't you stay here and join us for a little while, _sweetie_?" The very voice caused the now female Genma to shiver in complete revulsion, but she ended up obeying and sitting down. It was best to not do something that could make the situation even _**WORSE**_. "That's a good girl. See, you can do this if you just put your mind to it."

"I think I already learned my lesson. Could I just have that phoenix pill so I can leave?" Genma whined as she felt her embarrassment continue to skyrocket. "You told me that it would reverse that stupid cat's tongue point, and I think almost two weeks is enough!"

Mei-Lien tsked as she shook her head. "I'm sorry dear, but I should have told you."

"T-- Told me what?" Genma asked nervously. She didn't like the sound of this.

"The phoenix pill _**CAN **_cure you, and we _**WILL**_ give it to you. However, we don't _**HAVE **_a pill ready right now." It was an outright lie, and everyone in the room -- except for Genma -- knew it. "We are working on creating one, but it could take around a year and a half to two years to actually make."

Genma was completely shell-shocked. "A-- A year and a half to two years? I'm going to be stuck like this for almost two years?!" Just what kind of savages _**WERE**_ these people.

The red-haired matriarch patted Genma on the shoulder. "Now, now, don't get all panicky. There _**ARE**_ a couple options you can take." Genma's head snapped right into her direction. "You can end up changing back to your original form, but it would be VERY painful, and once you turned into your normal curse, you'd be completely stuck as a panda. Of course, you can also stay as you are now and actually go about the two years as a human who can communicate with other people properly instead of a voiceless animal that uses signs from nowhere. Now, doesn't the second option sound like a much better one than turning into a smelly and hairy animal?"

Genma contemplated over it for a moment. She hated being female, and she got used to her other form. When she thought about it though, it actually seemed like they were going easier on her by still letting her be human. Being female was STILL something she completely hated, but she figured it was better than being an animal. So, with great reluctance, Genma nodded her head. "I think I prefer the second option."

"Good!" Mei-Lien stated with a clap of her hands. "In the meantime, I think we might actually have some fun helping you get to know your feminine side!"

"W-- WHAT?!" Genma shouted as she shot to her feet. All around her, the elders cackled evilly in amusement. "No way in hell are you going to turn me even more girly. I'm a man! I will not allow you all to turn me into even more of a weak-minded female!" Genma slapped her hand over her mouth, but it was far too late to prevent the words from coming out.

The room suddenly became chilled as several pairs of eyes attempted to glare holes into her body. Finally, Mei-Lien -- the one that Genma would identify as being the source of the entire injustice -- stood up and stared right into the man-turned-woman's eyes. If possible, the evil smile from earlier turned more sinister. "Is that so? Well, it looks like this is going to be even more satisfying than I thought." Taking a finger, she poked Genma in the chest. "Genma, we are going to have so much fun in helping you get in touch with your feminine side that it will make the choice you made seem even _**WORSE**_ than the possibility of being stuck as a panda. We will begin first thing tomorrow morning. You are dismissed."

Genma started to protest, and she ended up having to be dragged out of the room by a pair of guards. "NO! STOP! HAVE MERCY! I didn't mean what I saaaaiiiiidddd!!!"

Once Genma had been properly dragged off, Mei-Lien turned towards her fellow elders. /Another order of business has presented itself to us. All in favor of obtaining some Drowned Girl Spring so that our lovely young lady can continue her punishment even after it is all over?/

/But Mei-Lien, you know as well as we do that the water directly from the springs is completely unpredictable./ One of the more shriveled and diminutive elders, Elder Dao-Ming, provided.

/You are correct, Dao-Ming. However, even if the results aren't to what we expected, the end result will still be the same./ The elders murmured amongst themselves for a little while before finally agreeing upon the choice of action. Mei-Lien smiled ever so evilly as she tapped her fingers together. /Excellent./

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma watched in silence as Soun and Akane practiced by going over a few warm-ups before starting with the real training. It was the morning of the next day, and Ranma was starting to get real antsy as she waited for Miki and the others to find her. She could have just upped and left, but a nagging feeling in the back of her mind prevented her from doing so. The family had been quite kind to her, and Ranma felt that outright leaving wasn't a good way to pay them back. 'Why am I thinking about it so much?' The kitten thought to herself as she scratched at the ribbon around her neck. 'Maybe this has something to do with it.'

The ribbon was a simple little black cloth that the oldest daughter, Kasumi, made for her. The family agreed that even though someone might come looking for her later, they could still give her a present to make her seem like a member of the family. Akane wanted to use a big pink bow, but it was felt that small and simple was a much better choice.

When she wanted to, Akane could be quite stubborn in something she wanted, and would end up pouting if she didn't get it. That was actually what happened the night before when Akane learned that she couldn't let 'Nyoko' sleep in her bed. After a little while, both Shizue and Soun agreed that 'Nyoko' could sleep in Akane's room, but on some sheets on the floor. Needless to say, Akane had also slept on the floor next to 'Nyoko's makeshift bedding.

A voice brought Ranma out of her thoughts. "If I didn't know any better, Nyoko, I'd say you liked martial arts." The kitten turned her attention to the speaker to see Shizue. Ranma soon found herself being gently picked up and held in the arms of the Tendo matriarch. "My husband is such an excellent man and martial artist." She knew that the kitten couldn't understand her, but that wasn't important. "He has such a strong will, and I'm proud to have him as the father of my children." Shizue's lips twitched in amusement. "He does have rare moments where he can become such a baby though, but that's just between me and you."

Ranma wondered why the woman was talking to her like the way she was. 'She probably just wants to talk to somebody she feels won't speak back or something.' The child-turned kitten thought to herself. Ranma was also trying to figure out what sensed 'off' about the Tendo matriarch. It was as if the woman was feeling ill. 'I sensed this once before when I visited the village healers. The senior healer was giving the same feeling.'

"What are you doing here!?" The shout shook Ranma out of her thoughts, and both she and Shizue glanced into Soun's direction to see that the man was glaring at the rear opening of the dojo. Standing just outside was a man of almost 20 with short black hair. "I told you to never set foot anywhere near my house again!" Whoever the man was, Ranma was sure that he must have done something terrible to enrage Soun so much.

The young man gulped as he tried to get what he wanted to say out. "T-- Tendo-san, I came to apologize and see if you could accept me as a student again."

"Never." Soun stated with all the force he could muster. Akane, meanwhile, ran over to her mother, and her older sisters arrived to figure out what all the shouting was about. "You used your abilities in a wrongful matter, and such acts could have disgraced the Tendo Anything Goes! No true martial artist tries to use their abilities to force themselves onto and almost sexually assault young girls!"

The young man managed to calm himself. "Tendo-san, it was a mistake, and I have learned my lesson. Please, can I continue learning--"

What happened next caused Ranma's eyes to bug out. The Tendo patriarch's head seemed to grow several sizes and take on a truly demonic look. _**"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!!"**_ Soun bellowed as loud as he could. The unwanted guest froze in place at the sight of the Demon Head technique. "I will not allow honorless slime a means to cause even more harm!"

"Hey! Who are you calling honorless slime?" The young man asked as his demeanor seemed to change. "How dare you say such a--" Soun was on him in an instant and grabbed him by his shirt. "H-- Hey, let me go!"

"I'm only going to say this one more time, young man. I will not start training you again. Now, are you going to leave quietly, or do I have to throw you over the wall?"

"Soun!" Shizue shouted as she ran over to the two. She had set Ranma down back near her daughters so she could calm her husband. "Soun, it's not worth it. Come on; let's just have the police handle it if he doesn't leave."

Soun began to calm down thanks to his wife. He was about to let the young man go when the man started to grumble to himself. "Oh yeah, you're a real big man; letting your damn wife tell you what to do." It was too bad for him that Soun heard him and was about to get angry again.

"Soun, please, remember what you tell Akane. A martial artist shouldn't let their emotions get the better of them!" The statement caused her husband to halt. That was true; what kind of example was he setting. "So come on honey, let's just--" Shizue's sentence was cut off as she started to cough.

"Shizue!" Soun shouted before turning his head back to the now slightly worried young man. "Get out of here, now." That time, the trespasser nodded as he turned around and ran off. The Tendo patriarch focused his attention onto his wife, and the sight of his daughters -- with kitten in arms -- running up to them with worried expressions on their faces. "Shizue, can you stand?" He asked softly as he held out a hand.

His wife took his hand after one last cough. "Y-- Yes, I can stand. I think I need to lie down though." She got to her feet and allowed her husband to hold her steady as they walked off and headed towards their bedroom.

Silence reigned for a long moment between the young sisters and kitten. Finally, Akane shakily broke the silence. "Y-- you think mama will be okay?"

"Hasn't she coughed like that before and they said that it was nothing?" Nabiki added with her own hint of worry.

"She has." Kasumi answered with a slow nod before her eyes took on a glare of determination. "Let's go and find out what's wrong. I won't believe that it's just nothing." Her sisters didn't need anymore incentive than that to go and check to see if there was anything they could do.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Soun pulled the door closed behind him as he exited his and his wife's bedroom. As he did so, he noticed that he had three -- four because of Ranma -- pairs of eyes staring intently at him. After an uncomfortable silence, he answered by placing a finger to his lips. "Shh, your mother is trying to rest. It's best to not disturb her."

Kasumi was the first to speak. "Father, we want to know what is wrong with mother. Don't you dare try and tell us that it is just a passing cold. This has happened before, and we want the _**TRUTH**_." She ended her statement with a glare at her father. She was immediately joined by her younger sisters.

If the circumstances weren't so serious, Soun would have found the glares to be adorable. With a sigh, he motioned for his daughters to follow him. It was time that they finally knew the truth. "I guess it's time you three finally know what's going on. Your mother has a sickness that's too far along to be able to cure."

"W-- What's that mean?" Akane asked in fear. "Does that mean she won't get better?"

"It's best if you three come and sit down so I can explain it to you." Their father answered as he started to walk off. The sisters made to follow him, but Ranma managed to jump out of Akane's arms.

"Nyoko?"

"Just let Nyoko be for now, Akane." Kasumi stated softly as she pulled her sister. "I read once that animals are able to sense illness." Akane reluctantly nodded as she followed her siblings to get to know what was really wrong with their mother.

As soon as they were out of view, Ranma turned around and headed towards the bedroom. Since the door was already ajar, she could sneak in without disturbing it and alerting anyone of her presence. Quietly, Ranma entered the bedroom and stalked over towards the bed. Bending her back legs, she built up a little power and leapt up onto the bed. Luckily, she didn't land on Shizue and disturb her. 'Now, what exactly am I looking for?' Ranma thought as climbed onto the Tendo matriarch's chest and stared at the woman's sleeping visage. Softly padding over to Shizue's face, the child-turned-kitten placed her forehead gently onto the ill woman's.

Closing her eyes, Ranma concentrated some power into the symbol on her head. A faint glow soon sprung to life and illuminated the area around the two. It was a year ago when Ranma first learned that there was an ability that only her cat form could do. The knowledge was one of the things that she obtained from the original Sailor Mau's memories. Apparently by activating the symbol on her forehead, she could observe certain memories of the one she's using the ability on. She also had access to a type of hypnosis ability while only in cat form as well. Ranma didn't fully have the hang of either, and she was limited in how long she could keep it activated.

After about a minute, Ranma finally learned where the problem was. Cutting off the power to the symbol on her head, Ranma backed up few feet before leaping off the bed. As she landed, she transformed into her human form. Standing up, the redhead turned towards the bed and gently laid her hands onto Shizue's chest. 'It looks like I'm going to be spending a few days completely stuck in kitten form.' Ranma thought with a sigh as she got to work gathering all of the raw magic she could and molded it so that she could use it for healing. Next, the energy traveled down into her hands and began to spread throughout the targeted area. About 30 seconds into it, Ranma was already beginning to feel the strain of using too much of her power. Finally, after another minute, she cut off the flow of magic and fell backwards. As soon as she landed on the floor, Ranma's form wavered and changed into her kitten form. Weakly getting back to her feet, the child-turned-kitten managed to leap back up onto the bed and walk over to the sleeping woman. Closing her eyes, Ranma attempted to sense and see if there was still some of the illness left. It was very feint, but she could sense that it was still there. 'It's not as strong as before though. Great, it seems that I'll have to do this again until it's fully gone!' Ranma thought with a sigh as she climbed up onto Shizue's chest and curled up. 'Note to self: big illnesses suck to cure. I also end up feeling sleepy.' With a yawn, the child-turned-kitten closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shizue's eyes flittered open a couple of hours later. Bringing a hand to her mouth, she yawned and began to stretch. For reasons she couldn't understand, she felt better than she had in a long while. She felt like she did before she first learned of her illness, and part of her wondered if it was some kind of trick or dream. There was, however, something lightly pressed against her chest. Lifting her head, Shizue noted that the small kitten that they had brought home yesterday was sound asleep. With a feint smile, the Tendo matriarch reached up and gently scratched the kitten at the base of her ear. A soft purr called back as Shizue continued to scratch. As she began to slowly push herself up into a sitting position, Shizue gently scooped Ranma into her arms.

"You're such a sweetie to spend some time with me, Nyoko." She thought with a giggle as she pulled her covers off and stepped out of bed. "Now why don't we just go and see what everyone else is up to?" With kitten in arms, Shizue made her way out of the bedroom and towards the family room where her family most likely was. As soon as she arrived in the room, her daughters -- who were previously watching TV -- saw her and ran towards her.

"Daddy told us everything; please say it's not really true!" Akane shouted as she wrapped her arms around her mother's leg and began to cry. Right next to her, Nabiki was trying to stop the tears from coming out of her own eyes.

"You shouldn't have kept something like this a secret!" Kasumi got out as she wiped her eyes. "It wouldn't hurt as bad if we were told a while back."

Shizue gently put a hand onto her eldest daughter's head. "You are right, honey. We really should have told you sooner, but I was too scared to tell you all." Casting her eyes ahead, she noted that her husband had a worried look on his face.

"Are you feeling any better after your rest?" Soun asked softly.

His wife nodded. "I feel wonderful, actually. I haven't felt this good since I heard the news from the doctor." A playful smile appeared on her lips as she decided to try and lighten the mood. "Maybe Nyoko here has something to do with it. She was sleeping on my chest when she woke up. Could it be that we have a magical kitten in our midst?"

Nabiki raised her hand. "That's what I said when I first saw the spot on her head!" Neither she nor her siblings forgot about their mother's illness, but they were glad that another subject was brought up.

"Oh, I think you woke her up, Nabiki." Shizue commented as Ranma began to stretch and yawn in her arms. Deep blue eyes snapped open and glanced around before centering on Shizue.

"Nya" The kitten stated as she glanced towards the ground. Figuring out what she wanted, the Tendo matriarch gently sat her down on the floor. Once down, Ranma proceeded to stretch lazily.

"Cats can be such lazy creatures." Nabiki joked as she and her sisters kneeled down and began petting the feline. They never noticed that there was a knock at the front door, nor did they notice their mother go to answer it. However, the next moment was one that would cause all three to freeze.

"Girls," Shizue began as she re-entered the room, "we have a guest, and I believe that she's the owner of our little friend." The Tendo girls' heads quickly snapped into her direction. Three pairs of eyes watched as a girl of around Akane's age with long pink hair and clear blue eyes appeared. Her hair also contained black highlights that seemed to be natural. She also had what appeared to be a fuzzy pink belt around her waist.

"Ran!" The pink-haired girl shouted as she walked up to Ranma and kneeled down in front of her. "I've been looking all over for you! Why did you go and make us worry like that?" The response she got was a few nyas and a swishing tail. Of course, she actually knew the meaning behind the nyas.

//I've been waiting for you guys, Miki! I can't explain now, but I ended up using a lot of raw magic earlier. I also need a way to come back later on once I'm rested!//

Miki nodded before shaking her head. "You can whine all you want, Ran, but that doesn't mean you are out of trouble." Reaching down, Miki grabbed Ranma and pulled the kitten into her arms and stood up. She was soon face to face with the three Tendo sisters.

"You're taking Nyoko away, aren't you?" Akane accused with crossed arms.

"Yeah, seems so." The pink-haired girl responded while scratching the back of her head. "But hey, maybe I can bring her over to visit sometime? I think she may have had a great time here."

"You mean it? Nabiki asked with a pointed stare.

Miki nodded. "Of course!"

It took a little more conversing before Miki could finally leave with Ranma. As soon as they left the Tendo compound, they met up with the Amazons. Ranma was also finally able to speak again without having to use cat sounds. "I'm now stuck like this for about five days." She said with a sigh. "Their mother had a very bad illness, and I tried using my magic to heal it. I was able to heal her, but I'll need to do it a few more times before she is completely better."

"At least magic good for something." Shampoo commented before her lips turned into a smirk. "You should be used to being kitten by now."

"I am, eggplant-head." The name caused Shampoo to glare. "I just hate when I'm stuck in this form. It limits what I can do by a lot." Ranma's face suddenly flashed in excitement. "Hey, we can go see my mom now!"

Cologne raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's wise, child? You are currently stuck as a kitten. Perhaps we should wait until you can regain your human form."

"I don't care! I wanna meet my mom. I don't want to be delayed any longer." She didn't really think it mattered. She would be back to normal within five days. "I think I'll also need some hot water when we get there."

"That really make a lot of difference." Shampoo commented with a rolling of her eyes. "Then again, it make sense coming from flea-fur." The statement caused Ranma's fur to stand on end.

"Are you trying to start something?" The transformed child raised her paws to reveal her claws. "C'mon, I'll take you on right now even though I'm stuck as a kitten!"

"Too, too easy to humiliate." Shampoo shot back with another smirk. "Maybe even show later."

"You're on!" Ranma answered back as she pointed a paw towards the purple-haired girl. "I may be stuck as a kitten, but I'll show you that I'm still a martial artist." Her abilities may have been severely limited as a kitten, but that didn't mean she was completely helpless.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm coming!" Nodoka called out as she made her way to the entrance to answer it. She wasn't expecting any company, and so she didn't have a clue to who it could be. Slowly opening the door, the auburn-haired woman poked her head outside. "Hello?"

"Nodoka Saotome," the diminutive and elderly woman began, "I'm Elder Cologne of the Joketsuzoku. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Nodoka thought for a moment. "Elder Colo-- wait, does that means you brought Ranma and his friend with you?" She asked as she flung open the door.

"Yep, we're right here, mama!" A small red-furred kitten with a black ribbon around its neck shouted as it was being carried by a pink-haired girl. "But I kind of used a bit too much magic earlier, and I think I told you in the letters that--" Ranma suddenly found herself out of Miki's arms and in one of her mother's. Nodoka's other arm was also giving Miki a gentle hug.

"You could end up being stuck as a kitten for a few days?" Nodoka finished with a small smile. "Ranma, at the moment, I don't care; just as long as I am able to see you again." The woman's lips twitched in amusement. "You're also just too adorable as a kitten!" Nodoka then recalled the other people who had arrived with Ranma and Miki. Calming herself and attempting to regain a dignified appearance, she proceeded to welcome them. "I apologize for getting too carried away. Please, won't you come in?"

Cologne cackled in amusement as she and the others followed the Saotome matriarch inside the house. Maybe Nodoka Saotome wasn't that bad at all.

xxA.Nxx

And so, Ranma is now stuck in kitten form for about a week due to over-use of magic to try and heal Mrs. Tendo. But as nothing is ever truly simple and easy, Shizue still isn't fully cured. It seems that Ranma will become well acquainted with magic exhaustion for quite a while.

Of course, Ranma would probably have to reveal to the Tendos sooner or later that he was the kitten. Maybe even if he becomes friends with them.

Huh, now that Ranma is back in Japan and living with his mother, he'd have to end up going to school. Maybe even Miki and Shampoo would be convinced to go as well.


End file.
